Inalienable Rights Living History
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. Through storytelling, artisan demonstrations, hearth and open fire cooking and dynamic presentations, visitors are encouraged to talk with the living historians to learn more about the enslaved community beyond the fields. Please see the profile of members of the team below. If interested in working with the Slave Dwelling Project, please reach out to Joseph McGill at slavedwellingproject@gmail.com.
Joseph McGill Jr.
Mr. Joseph McGill, Jr., is the founder of the Slave Dwelling Project. By arranging for people to sleep in extant slave dwellings, the Slave Dwelling Project has brought much needed attention to these often-neglected structures that are vitally important to the American built environment.
Mr. McGill has conducted over 250 overnights in approximately 150 different sites in 25 states and the District of Columbia. He has interacted with the descendants of both the enslaved communities and of the enslavers associated with antebellum historic sites. He speaks with school children and college students, with historical societies, community groups, and members of the public.
Since 2016, Mr. McGill expanded the Slave Dwelling Project to offer a program of living history called “Inalienable Rights: Living History Through the Eyes of the Enslaved.” The Project has conducted 7 conferences since 2013.
Mr. McGill is a Civil War Reenactor who participates in living history presentations, and lectures.
Mr. McGill was a field officer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, working to revitalize the Sweet Auburn commercial district in Atlanta, GA and to develop a management plan for the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.
Mr. McGill served as the Executive Director of the African American Museum located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His responsibilities included seeking funds from grant making entities to support the capital and operating budget of the museum/cultural center and developing programs that interpret the history of African Americans.
Mr. McGill is the former Director of History and Culture at Penn Center, St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Penn School was the first school built during the Civil War for the education of recently freed slaves. As Director, he was responsible for the overall development and implementation of the Center’s program for collecting, preserving, and making public the history of Penn Center and the Sea Island African American history and culture.
Mr. McGill was also employed by the National Park Service, serving as a Park Ranger at Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston, South Carolina. As a Park Ranger, Mr. McGill gave oral presentations on Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie on and off site. He supervised volunteers and participated in living history presentations.
Mr. McGill appears in the book Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz. He is also a member of the South Carolina Humanities Council Speakers Bureau.
Mr. McGill is coauthor of the book: Sleeping with the Ancestors: How I Followed the Footprints of Slavery.
Mr. McGill is a native of Kingstree, South Carolina. Upon graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. While in the Air Force, Mr. McGill served as Security Policeman in England, Washington State and Germany.
Mr. McGill holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Professional English from South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, South Carolina.
He is married to the former Vilarin Mozee, and they have one daughter, Jocelyn Mozee McGill.
Corey Alston
Tammy Denease
Tammy Denease, is an accomplished Historian, Artist, and Storyteller passionate about amplifying the voices of those who have been overlooked by history. As your Historian Partner, Tammy’s historical interpretation consultations include helping historical sites interpret their stories, and she assists with connecting sites with visitors. Tammy has more than 20 years of experience.
Tammy Denease specializes in bringing to life the lives of very important, yet “hidden” women in history including the following:
- Joan Jackson – Free woman sold into slavery (early 1700’s)
- Clo Pratt – Free woman who witnesses the signing of the Yorktown Strategy (1781)
- Elizabeth MumBet Freeman – one brave act ends Slavery in Massachusetts (1781)
- Belinda the Afrikan – Sued new government for reparations (1781)
- Sarah Margu – a child of the Amistad (1839)
- Elizabeth Keckly – Dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln (1860’s)
Carolyn Evans
- Harriet Tubman – The Love In That Cabin
- Sojourner Truth – From Birth To Rebirth And Freedom
- Margru – Child Of The Amistad
- Mary Ann Cord – Mark Twains’ muse
- Leer Green – Steamer Trunk To Freedom
- Harriet Jacobs – A Secret in the Garret
- Lavinia Bell – A Juneteenth Story
Tammy Gibson
Tammy Gibson, a Chicago native, is an entrepreneur, author, and black history educator and traveler. Her mission is to raise awareness, impact the youth, and preserve pride in African American culture through her personal journey. Raised by entrepreneurial parents, they modeled the importance of hard work and instilled the significance of education as the vehicle to transport her to the life of her dreams. Gibson earned her B.A. in African American Studies from Chicago State University.
Gibson is the CEO/Founder of the Illinois Black History Museum, a mobile pop-up museum that travels to historic sites, colleges, schools, community centers, churches, and corporations to educate and celebrate the richness and resilience of African Americans who were born and/or built the State of Illinois.
Gibson has traveled extensively throughout the United States to learn and educate about the hidden treasures of the African diaspora that have been erased from history books. Gibson has visited over 60 plantations, slept in 17 slave quarters, and document enslaved cemeteries.
Gibson’s portrays the life and labor of an enslaved laundress often responsible for washing, ironing, and maintaining the clothing of slave owners and their families, sometimes under harsh and grueling conditions. Gibson discusses the physical tasks and the emotional toll of this labor, highlighting the long hours, the use of rudimentary tools, and the challenges of being forced into domestic servitude. This role sheds light on the resilience and ingenuity of enslaved individuals, who sometimes found ways to carve out small moments of autonomy or community even in such oppressive circumstances.
Nicole Moore
Nicole A. Moore is a public historian and interpreter who finds joy in engaging visitors through food. Find her cooking historical and contemporary adaptations of foods made by the enslaved community and join her in conversation as you learn more about the foodways of enslaved Africans and the foods we enjoy today.
Donatavius Williams
Dontavius Williams is a seasoned living history interpreter, storyteller, and public historian with 20 years of experience in public programming and historical interpretation. He is the founder of The Chronicles of Adam, an immersive first-person interpretation that spans the 18th and 19th centuries, offering a deeply researched portrayal of the life of an enslaved blacksmith in the American South. Through this work, Dontavius does more than perform—he educates, challenges, and engages audiences in meaningful conversations about history, identity, and legacy.
He currently serves as the Resident Living History Cook at Stratford Hall in Montross, Virginia, where he interprets African American foodways and cultural traditions through live, hands-on interpretation. A skilled hearth cook and gifted educator, Dontavius brings historical narratives to life with accuracy, integrity, and humanity.
His work has been featured on national and regional platforms, including the PBS series America the Bountiful and multiple episodes of Trail of History on North Carolina’s PBS affiliate WTVI. He has collaborated with the National Park Foundation and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, contributing to educational films and initiatives that center African American stories.
In 2025, he was named the inaugural recipient of the Heroes of History Award by the Mars Wrigley American Heritage Foundation in recognition of his impactful contributions to cultural preservation and public history. Grounded in the African principle of Sankofa, Dontavius uses interpretation as a transformative tool to recover, honor, and share the stories of the past for the education and empowerment of future generations.