鈥楾his ground is sacred.鈥� How a new museum reclaims history from horror.
-
Ken Makin Contributor
| Charleston, S.C.
How does ground zero become hallowed ground?
The new International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina, is an exercise 鈥� rather, an exultation 鈥� in the importance of such work.
As the museum鈥檚 director of education and engagement for faith-based communities, the Rev. DeMett Jenkins identifies the importance of spiritual healing and community networking in the museum鈥檚 development. As a proud 鈥淕ullah Geechee girl鈥� and the granddaughter of , local trailblazers in health care and transportation, she appreciates the social justice component of this 鈥渟acred space.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onHow do you turn a site of horror into one of healing? The question of how to honor those whose lives were stolen informs every detail at the new International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why the building is lifted 13 feet up, because we didn鈥檛 want 鈥� the architects didn鈥檛 want 鈥� to just plant a building on this ground,鈥� Reverend Jenkins says. 鈥淲hy? When the souls of our ancestors stepped on it? We want to make sure that we put our feet within their feet and that we live out the prayers that they have been praying for.鈥�
It is perhaps fitting, then, that a worship service kicked things off for the museum at the iconic Morris Brown African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston on June 22. Brown was one of the founders of the AME Church and founded the former Hampstead Church, now known as Emanuel AME Church. 鈥淢other Emanuel鈥� has been the target of multiple racist attacks since its founding, including in 2015, when a white teenager opened fire and murdered nine Black people at prayer.
Ms. Jenkins called the service a 鈥渃elebration of liberation,鈥� and spoke about making history a priority in faith communities.
鈥淏esides school and home, we spend most of our time in somebody鈥檚 house of worship,鈥� she explains, sitting in an office adjacent to the museum鈥檚 Center for Family History. 鈥淎nd so we have the responsibility of teaching and educating and informing just as much as any mother or father in their home. And so this ground is sacred.鈥�
I attended the museum on the last day of June, a few days after its grand opening on June 27. The museum was carefully curated 鈥� a meticulous labor of love. Exhibits focused on 鈥渓ocal, state, national and international鈥� components of Black history and chronicled a history from 300 B.C. to the present day.
Second in size to only the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., the International African American Museum is home to 12 permanent exhibitions, including nine galleries and a special exhibitions gallery, which will rotate two to three exhibits annually. Through Aug. 6, one of those displays, 鈥淢en of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth.鈥� will the various contributions of Black activists and entertainers from James Baldwin to Kendrick Lamar.
鈥淭hey say it took almost 20 years to get here,鈥� says museumgoer Ray Alls. 鈥淚 can see that when you look at the attention to detail. It鈥檚 beautiful 鈥� long overdue.鈥�
That detail begins on the exterior, where the museum rests at Gadsden鈥檚 Wharf. The beauty of the harbor belies the horrors of the country鈥檚 history of chattel slavery. The wharf was the first destination in North America for an estimated 100,000 people who were forced into slavery.
鈥淧eople kind of know that Charleston was a port [for enslaved peoples from Africa], but didn鈥檛 really know where and how many. Based on what stats you read, sometimes you鈥檒l see 40% and sometimes you鈥檒l see 48% ... of our African ancestors came right through Charleston,鈥� Ms. Jenkins says. 鈥淚 always challenge myself when I hear myself say 鈥榗ame here,鈥� I correct myself and say they were 鈥榝orced here.鈥欌��
Consider a duo of life-size portraits that rest in close proximity in the American Journeys exhibit, similar in depiction but with a gripping and profound difference.
They tell the story of , a Black teacher who was appointed postmaster in Lake City, South Carolina, in 1897. He was an appointee of President William McKinley, who sought to promote Black Republicans in the aftermath of his inauguration.
Baker quickly became the target of white angst, and then, white violence. On the morning of Feb. 22, 1898, a mob raided and fired upon Baker鈥檚 home 鈥� also the town post office. Baker was lynched, and his infant daughter, Julia, was shot and killed. A picture of Baker鈥檚 wife, Lavinia, and their five surviving children is on display at the museum.
The picture that accompanies it captures the essence of what the new museum represents. Designed by artist Stan Squirewell, originally from Washington, D.C., it is a re-imagination of the former familial photo that includes Baker and his infant daughter, united with the people who loved them.
The exhibit that recognized Frazier Baker reminds me of my dad, who worked for a time as postmaster during his nearly 40-year career with the U.S. Postal Service. Baker鈥檚 story unnerved multiple onlookers, who wept when they saw the reimagined photo of the Baker family.
The museum doesn鈥檛 limit itself to a timeline of the nightmare of slavery to the present. Its look back at African roots and African routes dates back to the B.C. era, and its timeline of North American history goes back to the 1400s. The museum鈥檚 Center for Family History, which focuses on genealogy, is an example of just how far Black folks have come by faith, explains Ms. Jenkins.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e collecting funeral programs, obituaries, family Bibles with people who already have their names and dates written in them,鈥� she says. 鈥淪ince we have begun working here, we have already encountered people who have their family Bibles from the 1800s.
鈥淲e want to make sure they preserve that Bible well and that they continue to keep that legacy within their family 鈥� so that they know their history,鈥� she adds.
Other museumgoers express joy and near speechlessness over the annals of information presented in various ways, from artifacts to short films to video presentations. The more than two acres of land where the wharf stood is now a memorial garden, and black granite walls rise from the site of a former warehouse where Africans were forced to crowd inside before being taken to the market to be sold.
鈥淏reathtaking,鈥� declares Brenda Wrighton. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot to take in. I don鈥檛 think this can be done in one day.鈥�
鈥淢y thoughts are endless 鈥� no words,鈥� says Jessie Walker. 鈥淥ur history being brought to fruition like this 鈥� it鈥檚 just awesome. This is a way we can teach our children history.鈥�
At the end of the American Journeys timeline, there is a fluorescent sign for the IAAM, with the first A faded out slightly. 鈥淚 AM,鈥� the light reads, and the subsequent letters on the floor spell out 鈥淪TILL HERE.鈥�
Leslie Abraham stands a few feet from that sign, emotional over the resilience of 鈥渙ur people.鈥�
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 made it 20 feet in [to the exhibit], and I had to stop and just take a moment,鈥� Ms. Abraham says. 鈥淥ur rich history 鈥� what we鈥檝e contributed to this nation.
鈥淲e are forgiving people, after all that has been done to us and has been taken from us,鈥� she adds. 鈥淏ut God. We thrive.鈥�
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the first timeline reference referred to the nightmare of slavery.
