Recidivism: African Americans in the Prison System

Historic buildings make great classrooms. Many organized groups have joined members of the Slave Dwelling Project in antebellum slave dwellings that have been preserved. A group from Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, FL joined us at Old Alabama Town in Montgomery, AL. A group from Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, PA joined us at Belle Grove Plantation in Middletown, VA. A group from the University of North Carolina Wilmington joined us at Bellamy Mansion in Wilmington, NC. Outdoor Afro joined us at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, SC. Marquette University High School has taken using historic buildings as classrooms to another level. For the past three years, Chris Lese, has been bringing his class from Marquette University High School to spend nights in slave cabins with members of the Slave Dwelling Project in South Carolina, Virginia and Mississippi.

The groups that benefitted from those sleepovers usually dictated the tone of the conversations of those sleepovers. Of course, those sleepovers could not occur without the buy-in of the property stewards. These stewards know that we come in peace and we mean them no harm. It’s all about preserving, interpreting, maintaining and sustaining those historic buildings once inhabited by the enslaved Ancestors.

Now that sleeping in historic buildings is becoming less significant to the purpose of the Slave Dwelling Project, its replacement is now the discussions that we conduct prior to going to sleep. That discussion is usually about chattel slavery and the legacy that it left on this nation.

We decided to leverage our presence by letting the conversations lead the purpose for participating in these sleepovers. To do that, several entities had to come together for a sleepover in the Old Charleston Jail. 

Historically, jails that existed during the time of slavery were often built by enslaved people and housed some of those who were enslaved. Once, members of the Slave Dwelling Project spent a night in the Brentsville Jail in Brentsville, VA. Because of the fugitive slave act, enslaved people who managed to escape and were captured were sometimes held captives in jails, if they were lucky. The alternative was for slave catchers to proclaim that the enslaved escapee resisted, kill them, bring back their heads and claim the insurance.

On a trip back from one of our out of state living history programs, Dontavius Williams had the great idea of having a conversation about the recidivism rate of African Americans in the US prison system. We concluded that the best place to have this conversation was in the Old Charleston Jail in Charleston, SC.

It was now on me to secure the site. The building is currently in transition from vacant to being renovated into office space. The building is said to be the most haunted building in the city of Charleston. Despite that, I had spent three nights in the building three times before. John LaVerne, owner of Bulldog Tours has access to the building for conducting ghost tours. John did not hesitate to grant permission. He wanted us to conduct the event sooner rather than later because access to the building would not be granted while it was being renovated into offices and who knows what the new owners will allow once the work is completed.

What I feared was that I learned from a workshop that I attended that more African American history is disseminated on ghost tours than on history tours and I have a problem with that. I don’t knock anyone for making a living but why is it that our history is incorporated into the zany and unbelievable.

To pull this off a sleepover and a discussion about the recidivism rate of African Americans in the prison system, we http://counton2.com/2018/02/22/hidden-history-slave-dwelling-project/would need some dynamic speakers who could speak with authority on that subject. To that end, we called on Chief Jerome Taylor, the interim Chief of Police for the Charleston Police Department and Dr. Nic Butler, since 2005 he has been the archivist, and now historian, for the Charleston County Public Library. Neither of them hesitated when I requested they join us in the jail for the recidivism event. So now, it was on and set for Sunday, March 4th.

We could not have asked for more publicity. Our hope was that we could muster at least 25 people who would join us in the Old Charleston Jail to join us in the discussion and sleepover. We even reached a point when we thought that we would attract more ghost hunters than those interested in the subject matter of the recidivism rate of African Americans in the prison system. The people signed up as instructed, I spoke to many of them personally and they assured me that they would attend. We planned a beautiful program:

Schedule:

Sunday, March 4

5:00 pm Arrive at Jail (Check-In)

5:30 pm Purpose of Gathering (Introductions)

6:00 pm Tour of Jail

7:00 pm Food and drinks delivered

7:15 pm Dinner & Conversation

7:45 pm The History of Law Enforcement in Charleston County, Dr. Nic Butler

8:45 pm Charleston Police Department / Programs to Address Recidivism, Chief Jerome Taylor

10:30 pm Non-Sleepers Depart

10:30 pm More Conversation

Midnight Sleepover

Monday, March 5

8:00 am Clean Up

9:00 am Depart Jail

Unfortunately, half of those who signed up did not show, but those who did show up got a treat because the presenters were superb in covering their subject matter. The program proceeded as outlined. One person showed up to scope the place out but made a quick assessment that sleeping in the jail was not her thing. A family of visitors who earlier in the day was on my tour at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens came and participated in the tour of the jail, but they did not stay for the presentations. Two surprise quests, Mayor John and his wife Sandy Tecklenburg made a cameo.

Need I say that the conversation before the sleepover was powerful. So why was it that many people did not show? Were they more afraid of ghosts or the subject of the recidivism rates of African Americans in the prison system? I guess I may never know the answer to that question.

I do know that chattel slavery has left a legacy on this nation that we are still dealing with today. If used correctly, historic buildings can help us deal with that legacy. I thank John LaVerne of Bulldog Tours for allowing the Slave Dwelling Project to utilize the Old Charleston Jail to address the recidivism rate of African Americans in the prison system.

One of the visitors recommended that we should pursue spending a night in the Old Slave Mart Museum. That request has been made. There, we can talk about the domestic slave trade. The question will still be: Are you afraid of the building or the subject matter?

Kyndra Luce

This (Haunted) Place Matters

Who could resist the offer to spend the night in jail with Joseph and Dontavius? The Old Charleston Jail, with all its creepy, haunted history, was the setting for a discussion on present-day recidivism and the history of policing.

Let me just say this, because this is the “ah-ha” moment of the night for me, from Dr. Nic Butler: it wasn’t until 1937 that we had policing as it is today. Before that, all white men enforced the laws, which were especially cruel to Black men and women in the deep South. He goes into a lot more detail, and it is fascinating. But..

In 1937, my grandfather was 16 years old, living on Wall Street in downtown Charleston. It wasn’t that long ago. And these ideas have certainly been passed down to us:

• White men were required to carry a gun to church to ensure there were no uprisings from the people they owned, who sat in the balcony.

• White men were scheduled on rotation to make sure Black people weren’t out after dark.

• In 2012, a white man stalked a young Black boy wearing a hoodie and walking alone at night, because he looked suspicious…

Again, this night, the group talked into the wee hours about personal experience, police, Charleston and the struggle to understand race. I attempted to sleep on the concrete floor where thousands of people before me were incarcerated. Thank goodness the lights were on all night, because my eyes were open. Pun intended, thanks to the Slave Dwelling Project.

Thank you Joseph and Dontavius for hosting another amazing night. Thank you, Joy and Randy from Bulldog Tours, for being our hosts and guides for the night.

Vanessa Halyard

The Old City Jail sleepover was my first and definitely will not be my last sleepover. The evening began with lectures that were very informative and interesting. Exploring the history of the jail with our tour guides was phenomenal. My 83-year-old mother attended with me and commented that the experience was one that she will never forget. If the walls could talk they would have a lot to say. Thank you, Joe McGill, Dr. Nic Butler, Chief Jerome Taylor, Randall Johnson, Joy Watson and Dontavius Williams.