From July 14-16, Levine Museum took twelve students to Charleston, South Carolina, to complement their week-long intensive on the African Diaspora and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Throughout the trip, students were asked to reflect upon the histories that they learned and connect them to their own lived experiences as well as think critically about current social issues.
While Charleston is often associated with Southern hospitality and its tourism, at one point this city was the largest slave port in the United States. Students visited historical sites such as the Old Slave Mart Museum and Magnolia Plantation’s slave cabins where they were exposed to the idea of the African Diaspora and the spread of African culture in the Americas. As students embraced a side of history that is not often taught in schools, they were forced to explore their own identities and personally connect to the stories shared with them.
Students were also pushed to challenge traditional history and how it has been told. For example, many tour guides compared Sullivan’s Island to Ellis Island, since 40% of the enslaved people brought to the U.S. were first brought to Sullivan’s Island. While Sullivan’s Island was a harbor for the African Diaspora, students recognized the discrepancy in comparing voluntary migration to the involuntary movement of a people.
Additionally, while on Sullivan’s Island, students visited Fort Moultrie, which neighbored the “pest houses” –places of quarantine where the enslaved were first brought to make sure they were free from communicable diseases. At Fort Moultrie, students recognized the irony in the juxtaposition of a pest house and a church.
Many students were surprised at how much of our culture today originates from the African slave trade, yet is not credited. Students were able to explore music, dance, food, language and local history in both Charleston, as they were in Charlotte, in order to get a better understanding of the impact of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Participants met with local community members who shared their talents, skills and knowledge to help students better understand the African influence on the Carolinas today.
As participant Victoria Banks stated, “Africa is a book no one knows we’re reading.”
We hope all of the students will continue to recognize and credit untold histories and compel others to connect their own identities to the world around them.
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Did you know Charleston was the largest slave port in the United States? Have you visited any of these historical places?
From June 23-27, 2014, the Museum hosted HistoryACTIVE, its 5-day summer learning institute for students looking to further their knowledge on key historical aspects. This year, HistoryACTIVE focused on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the African Diaspora, encouraging students to reflect and think upon how the African Diaspora impacts the Americas today.
Each day the students were presented with information on different aspects of the African Diaspora including an introduction to slavery and the diaspora that featured a presentation from Amad Shakur, director of the Center for the African Diaspora, on Monday, June 23. On Tuesday, students looked at the history and Africanity of music with a drumming session from the McCrorey YMCA senior drummers, a field trip to the Latibah Collard Green Museum, and a learning concert from Toni Tupponce and A Sign of the Times. Wednesday was designated as a food and art day including a cooking demonstration with Mert’s Heart and Soul owner James Bazzelle and a visit to the Mint Museum of Art on Randolph followed by a mask-making activity with Catherine Courtlandt-McElvane. Thursday’s activities rounded out the week of learning with dance sessions from LaTanya Johnson of The Sycamore Project and presentations from Charlotte Capoeira and S and A Peruvian dancers.
From the knowledge they gained throughout the week, the students created a showcase on Friday to celebrate what they learned and the connections they made.
All of the students had presentations that showed how they saw Africa in their daily lives. Participant Anna Azaglo said, “From History ACTIVE I have learned that most things come from Africa. The art I see, the beats I hear, and the dances I do. I see Africa’s influence in everyday things that most people do not see. Africa is everywhere and it has opened my eyes.”
When Anna first showed up at the Levine Museum of the New South to participate in the HistoryACTIVE program, she was very quiet and reserved. By Friday, for her showcase, she blossomed and had everyone in the room on their feet and dancing the “Azonto,” a contemporary Ghanaian dance, and having a good time. Another 12 students, along with Anna, presented showcases that were all unique, informative and fun in their own way.
The fun does not stop there. HistoryACTIVE students will have a chance to partake in a 3-day long bus trip to Charleston, South Carolina from July 14-16. In Charleston, the students will see first-hand how the African Diaspora affected the South. Activities will include tours of plantations, historic sites and museums, and the S.C. Sea Islands.
It’s just one more extension of the learning and the reason Anna has already signed up to take the trip, “HistoryACTIVE is a program that will teach you and open your eyes, so you can see the real world.”
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written by Shantel Johnson, History ACTIVE Intern
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View from the Other Side features local artists' response to the previous exhibit, Network of Mutuality: 50 Years Post-Birmingham. The artists created pieces working within the topic of Civil Rights struggles in our region. Both exhibits are a part of the Museum's two-year series, Destination Freedom: Civil Rights Struggles Then and Now. To bring further insights into the exhibit, we took the opportunity to ask the artists about their artwork, what in history inspired them to create it and what they hope guest gain from their art.
Next up: Antoine Williams, Local Artist and Designer
What part of history inspired your artwork?
When it comes to history, I'm interested in how human beings have interacted with one another. Therefore, points in time when one group exerts power over another and reaction that produces. More specifically, slavery up to Jim Crow and the civil rights movement, American military history, also the relationship between the ruling class and average people.
What do you hope guest experience when viewing your artwork?
Evoking any type of emotion is of particular interest to me. The view completes the piece. So, I hope they bring their own experiences to the work, coupled with what I've created maybe they can come to their own conclusions.
What roles does the community play in your art?
My work is a look at how socioeconomic factors can affect ones cultural identity, therefore, the art I'm creating is heavily influenced by the communities I grew up with and the ones I currently exist in now.
What other imagery/ stories do you explore within your work?
Lately, I've been interested in merging representations of contemporary people from various social strata with early 18th century animal illustrations, as a look into how we create monsters out of those we deem different than ourselves.
Learn more about Antoine on his Tumblr and website.
Come view Antoine and other's artwork in the View from the Other Side exhibit at the Levine Museum, on display through February 2, 2014.
Have you seen Antoine's artwork? Tell us what you think below.
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