The Slave Dwelling Project

 

Changing the narrative, one slave dwelling at a time.

The Illusion of Freedom: Slavery in the Northern States

The 2024 Slave Dwelling Project Conference, The Illusion of Freedom: Slavery in the Northern States will take place on October 3-5, 2024 in the heart of historic Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Sleeping with the Ancestors

Authors Joseph McGill and Herb Frazier discuss their new book, SLEEPING WITH THE ANCESTORS, from the Magnolia Plantation in Charelston, SC. SLEEPING WITH THE ANCESTORS is Joseph’s enlightening personal account of his groundbreaking project to sleep overnight in former slave dwellings that still stand across the country—revealing the fascinating history behind these sites and shedding light on larger issues of race in America.

Inalienable Rights

Inalienable Rights, the Living History arm of The Slave Dwelling Project, travels across the United States to present the lives and histories of enslaved people.

The Stono Rebellion and the Atlantic World

 

The 2022 Slave Dwelling Project Conference took place September 8-10, 2022, at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. Concurrent with The Stono Legacy Project, a month-long commemoration of the 1739 Stono Rebellion. Stay tuned for details on the 2024 conference.

 
 

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Now that I have the attention of the public by sleeping in extant slave dwellings, it is time to wake up and deliver the message that the people who lived in these structures were not a footnote in American history.

– Joseph McGill, Founder of the Slave Dwelling Project
 
Goodwill Plantation Living History

Sleeping with the Ancestors

Sleeping with the Ancestors focuses on all of the key sites McGill has visited. He and coauthor Herb Frazier give readers an important unexpected emersion into the history of slavery, and especially the obscured and ignored aspects of that history.
Slave Dwelling Project Overnight Stays

SDP Events

As we emerge from the pandemic, we are adding in-person events to the rotation but also continuing the digital event. You’ll find a detailed schedule of our 2023 season by clicking the image above, as well as future events to come.

Ten Years of Changing Narratives

The 8th SDP Conference

The 2024 Slave Dwelling Project Conference, The Illusion of Freedom: Slavery in the Northern States will take place on October 3-5, 2024 in the heart of historic Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This overnight stay highlighted for me in a personal and physical way what the lives of enslaved people might have been like. It made me much more thoughtful about the harsh contrast between the lives of free, privileged, European American slave owners, like my own ancestors, and the lives of the enslaved and intentionally deprived African American people.

– Prinny Anderson, Coming to the Table

Upcoming Stays

Upcoming Overnight Stays and Public Programs

Jamestown Foundation, Jamestown, VA

Jamestown Foundation, Jamestown, VA book signing event. McGill has a 30-year career in public history. He is the founder of the Slave Dwelling Project, which allows people to sleep in extant slave dwellings to raise awareness and preservation of these often-neglected...

“Who Speak Fuh’ We? WE Speak Fuh’ WE!” The work of The Slave Dwelling Project, Inc. is profound. The dwellings that we have to save remind me of a South African word, “Azuka”, meaning “help is imperative”. I am honored to be a member of the Project. We will raise the bar on cultural heritage preservation throughout the United States and abroad. I encourage folks to come on board, “Jine WE.”

 – Patt Gunn, Geechee Girl Productions
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I can say that the experience has made me a better person. It’s taught me humility for those who lived daily in the conditions I experienced for only 12 hours. It’s shown me an importance in knowing and attempting to learn about your history. Most of all, it has proven that history is real.

Justin Castor, Student

I was thankful for the act of remembrance and the ability to do so in a cultural way; in ways that my ancestors would have been punished for on many plantations. It was there in the sanctuary that I gave thanks of knowing and living the words of the ancestors … “Lest we forget.” My chant to them on the altar was, “You are not forgotten. We remember you with praise and honor.”

Toni Renee Battle

All I can say about Joe’s stay and “By the Sweat of Our Brows” is: if you didn’t make it, I’m sorry you missed it. You had to have been there to experience the power.

Dontavius Williams, Historical Interpreter, Historic Brattonsville

Slave Dwellings, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
 

The Slave Dwelling Project

Changing the narrative, one slave dwelling at a time.

 
 
 

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