by Joseph McGill | Sep 30, 2019 | Blog Posts
On Tuesday, March 14, 1845, President James K Polk was sworn in by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, infamous for the Dred Scott Decision. History is not always wrapped up with a bow. We want our heroes to remain heroes. We tend to avoid history that takes us out of our...
by Joseph McGill | Sep 22, 2019 | Blog Posts
Some say that hurricanes follow the paths of slave ships. Nine years ago, the actions of the Slave Dwelling Project were haphazard. I learned as I went. It was a crazy idea to spend nights in extant slave dwellings in the state of South Carolina. By that time in my...
by Joseph McGill | Sep 8, 2019 | Blog Posts
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia,...
by Joseph McGill | Sep 1, 2019 | Blog Posts
As a South Carolinian, raised on an educational system with a high proportion of revisionist history, I was a work in progress. Examples: All slaves were happy; the Civil War was about state’s rights; Nat Turner was a bad man. That South Carolina history showed...
by Joseph McGill | Aug 21, 2019 | Blog Posts
Historical trauma, as used by social workers, historians, and psychologists, refers to the cumulative emotional harm of an individual or generation caused by a traumatic experience or event. Historical Trauma Response refers to the manifestation of emotions and...
by Joseph McGill | Jul 14, 2019 | Blog Posts
Ask some folks if they have visited a plantation before and they may say no. Ask those same people if they have visited Mount Vernon, Monticello, Montpelier, Highlands, White Haven or the Hermitage and they may say yes. Those places are homes of slave-owning...
by Joseph McGill | Jul 7, 2019 | Blog Posts
Stratford Hall 438 Great House Road, Stratford, Virginia Sometimes opposites attract. Years ago, I had the pleasure of spending a night at the Lee-Fendall House Museum in Alexandria, Virginia. The Lee-Fendall House was the home of Major-General Henry “Light-Horse...
by Joseph McGill | Jun 25, 2019 | Blog Posts
I get the most push back from people when I talk about slavery in northern states. In those states, African American history is more than just the Underground Railroad or the northern army that helped to rid this country of slavery during the Civil War. There are...
by Joseph McGill | Jun 15, 2019 | Blog Posts
Kennedy Farm, 2406 Chestnut Grove Road, Chestnut Grove Road, Sharpsburg, MD 21782 Sometimes fate takes over and you have too just let things happen. If I recall correctly, while attending kindergarten through twelfth grades, classes, in general, were not things I...
by Joseph McGill | May 22, 2019 | Blog Posts
The idea of spending nights in slave dwellings is not an easy concept for some. Even today there is often push back to the Slave Dwelling Project’s effort to honor the enslaved Ancestors. There are those among us who would much rather have the subject of slavery go...
