Discussing Race Relations at a Plantation

One sign of success is an invitation to come back to perform the service for which you were initially invited. Hampton Plantation in Charleston County, SC gave the Slave Dwelling Project that opportunity on Saturday, February 24, 2018. In fact, this would be the third time that the Project would participate in a sleepover at Hampton Plantation. At this stage in our existence, a third invitation is not a unique thing. What is special about this invitation is that Hampton Plantation is part of the South Carolina Department of Parks Recreation and Tourism, the first organization to tell me no to a sleepover back in 2010. Initially, they were just not buying what the Slave Dwelling Project was selling. More specifically, that site that denied me was Redcliffe Plantation in Aiken County, SC. For the record, I have since had a sleepover at Redcliffe Plantation. I have also had the pleasure of spending a night at Charles Towne Landing, another South Carolina State Park site.

That said, I am proud that this most recent event at Hampton Plantation would, for the second consecutive year, include Inalienable Rights: Living History Through the Eyes of the Enslaved. Living historians Christine Mitchell and Dontavius Williams would accompany me on this visit. The site loved what they got from these two amazing living historians the previous year.

Upon arrival at the site, we were treated to a tour of the updated work the site is doing to acknowledge those who were enslaved on the property. In years past, Hampton Plantation started excavating the site of some of the slave dwellings on the property. It was at this archaeological site that I pitched a tent and had my first sleepover at the property. I recall that it was one of the coldest night that I ever experienced while conducting sleepovers at antebellum sites. The foundation of the slave cabin is now outlined in bricks about three levels high and signage that has enhanced the interpretation of the enslaved who occupied the cabins. And there are plans to do further excavations to expose the foundations of some of the other slave cabins. Additionally, there are plans to reclaim one of the rice fields and interpret it accordingly, how cool is that?

This year, we would appropriately set up in the back of the big house which historically would have been the front of the big house because the house was oriented to the Hampton Creek, a tributary of the Santee River.

On Saturday, we witnessed an increased number of visitors at the living history event. Moreover, the crowd was much more diverse. An indication that the site is actively seeking the involvement of the descendants of those who were enslaved there. My conversation with those descendants verified that the site had and is reaching out to them. Nationally, that reach by antebellum sites to the descendants of those who were enslaved is progressing slowly but thankfully, it is happening.

African American Heritage Day

Interpreter Locations:

Christine Mitchell: History of Slavery in SC
• Located beside #8 behind Kitchen House
• Presentations at 1:30PM and 3:45PM

Dontavius Williams: Storyteller
• Located beside #8 behind Kitchen House
• Presentations at 12:30PM and 3:30PM

Joseph McGill: The Slave Dwelling Project
• Located beside #8 behind Kitchen House
• Presentations at 12:00PM and 3:00PM

Rob Wolfe: Rice in SC
• Located behind #8 behind Kitchen House
• Presentation at 2:00PM

Points of Interest:

2:30 PM Gospel Concert by Howard AME
• Located at #9 Mansion House Front Portico

The day started slowly with few people at the site at 10:00 am. We adjusted the scheduled and proceeded accordingly. The living historians immediately engaged an audience that was eager to indulge in the subject of the enslaved at antebellum sites.

This year, the plantation offered the public an opportunity to spend the night at the site with us. This opportunity to spend the night came with a fee which included a barbeque dinner. Ten people signed up for the occasion.

The catered meal of pulled pork, macaroni & cheese, baked beans, coleslaw and cornbread did not disappoint. While eating the meal at the three picnic tables at the ranger station, three different conversations began of what would be the prelude to a collective conversation when we all relocated to the campsite. Archaeologist, Martha Zierden, was at my table, she reminded me that I showed up at the 11th hour on an archaeological site that she was supervising at the Aiken Rhett House in Charleston, SC. One of my questions to her was, “were there any fingerprints found on any of the bricks pulled from the earth?” She was happy to report that a Citadel Cadet is now looking at each of those brick for fingerprints. I consider that a victory.

An archaeologist, Ph.D. candidate, school teacher, historian, music teacher, park manager, etc was an indication that we had a great cross-section of people represented in the conversation around the campfire. And we had two middle school students to boot and they both gave meaningful input. My only regret was that there were not any members of the descendants of the enslaved community that joined us. The matter that permeated the conversation was current day race relations. Everyone in the circle had something meaningful to contribute to the conversation in a cordial and intelligent way. I was impressed that we could get through that conversation without once mentioning President Donald Trump.

The opportunity to sleep in the big house was given to the living historians. All others would sleep in tents. The sleepover in the big house was much different from last year. Although it was Winter, the temperature was Spring-like. We had the usual cacophony of snores, but one young man decided to sleep in the fireplace and he pulled it off. This should give you an indication of the dimensions of that architecturally significant house.

The next morning and it seemed like the conversation from the previous night continued over doughnuts and coffee. Some of the overnighters left because I did not let them know in time that I wanted to take a group photo in front of the house with our “this place matters” sign.

We left the site with a verbal commitment that the Slave Dwelling Project and Living History Through the Eyes of the Enslaved will be back next year. I’m excited that we have a verbal commitment at the park level, but I understand bureaucracy and this request must be approved by those higher in the chain of command. In this political climate, race relations are very touchy subjects. Living in a red state makes that subject matter more delicate. The Slave Dwelling Project has evolved from an organization whose purpose is to help preserve historic buildings, to an organization that now takes on the residuals of what chat chattel has left on this great nation. It is our desire that Hampton Plantation and other antebellum sites take on the responsibility of changing the narrative by being all inclusive in telling the stories of all who inhabited those sites.

Turn off, tune in, …
By Jennifer Howard

The breeze rustling the bullrush is interrupted only by the primitive yammering of Great Horned Owls. As I relax in the post-dusk moments and reflect on the conversations of the day, I am struck by how profoundly powerful silent contemplation can be in our noisy world.

My daughter, a friend and I are at Hampton Plantation State Park for the African American Heritage Day and a camp-out with Joe McGill, founder of The Slave Dwelling Project. Through story and song, we learn about and honor the enslaved people who called Hampton Plantation home during antebellum South Carolina. Around a campfire, in the shadow of the grand home and kitchen house, a small number of us gather to reflect on our experiences and to participate in a candid, but informal dialogue on race relations… and later to sleep right there in the lawn. The setting encourages us to turn off, tune in, and immerse ourselves in issues that can be uncomfortable in traditional settings or perhaps not even explored, but yet critical to our lives, especially in land conservation. This process helps us understand that “this place matters” in more ways than we had ever considered. It’s the discipline of learning and reflection that forms the foundation of successful communications.

Often my clients will ask, “how do we get our message out? How do we get heard with so many distractions?” It’s not just a matter of tools and tactics. It’s a matter of perspective. Maybe the first question ought to be, “How do I train myself to listen, learn, interpret, and shape our story in a noisy world?” We found the answer: turn off, tune in, and immerse.

One Person at a Time

by Robert Wolfe

Interpreting slavery at a historic site can be a difficult endeavor. During a tour, I typically have 40 minutes with our visitors. During that time, I have to cover a diverse range of topics; enslaved life, rice planting, architecture, the rise and fall of the plantation system, reconstruction, and more! It can be an ambitious undertaking. An enormous hurdle in interpreting the lives of enslaved people is an issue of documentation. The plantation owners leave letters, diaries, material culture, things we can explore and read. Very little remains of enslaved life. What information is available typically comes from the plantation owners. Most often, it is statistics related to value, production, bills of sale; documents that provide a tantalizing glimpse of enslaved life, but offer nothing to create a human being.

Fortunately, groups like The Slave Dwelling Project exist, bringing professional resources together that not only tell the story of enslaved people, but bring it to life in a way not possible with static exhibits.

I first saw the Inalienable Rights program at Hobcaw Barony in July 2016. Being able to interact with human beings really brings the enslaved to life. Watching a blacksmith at his craft, smelling food cooking, listening to the Gullah language, hearing Adam’s tale of survival; all of this provides an immersive experience that is rarely possible on historic site day to day. Inalienable Rights first came to Hampton Plantation in February 2017, but in 2018, we wanted to do something different. Working with The Slave Dwelling Project, Hampton Plantation organized the first overnight campout at a State Historic Site. The idea was to gather around the campfire, and just talk. See what happens. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The result was better than I could have imagined.

On the night of February 24th, 2018, 10 members of the public, members of The Slave Dwelling Project, and the staff of Hampton Plantation State Historic Site came together to share a meal of BBQ and discussion around the campfire.

I honestly did not know what to expect, but what I witnessed was incredible. People of all ages participating in a conversation about equality. What does it mean to treat people equitably? What actions can you or I take to make our society more equitable? How can we move past the romance of the plantation and really get to the heart of what these places can teach us today? These are just some of the questions discussed around the fire that night.

I will not claim that we solved any of the world’s problems that night. My goal in hosting The Slave Dwelling Project was to get other people thinking about the legacy of slavery throughout the United States. To get people talking, to prove that it is possible to have a civil conversation about a subject many people find uncomfortable. That is what all this is about.

278 years ago, the Colony of South Carolina created a series of laws making it illegal for enslaved people to read, write, and gather. Designed to limit their ability to think. If these conversations with the Slave Dwelling Project can get one person thinking about our relationship with the past, then that is a step in the right direction.