Who We Are

Founder and Executive Director

Joseph McGill, Jr. is the founder of the Slave Dwelling Project and a history consultant for Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC. 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.

Board of Directors:

Rachael Harrell Finch is the Founder & CEO of Engage Preservation Consulting, Inc., a cultural resource management firm dedicated to stewarding historic sites, museums, and communities through innovative strategic initiatives, inclusive practices for preservation and interpretive planning, GIS, and community-forward advocacy. Finch has nearly two decades of experience in historic preservation, museum management, and nonprofit leadership. Finch holds an MA in Public History with an emphasis in Historic Preservation, Cultural Resource Management and Administration of Historical Organizations from Middle Tennessee State University and a BA in History and Political Science from Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado. Finch previously served as the Senior Director of Preservation, Education, & Advocacy for the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County, the Executive Director for the Historic Franklin Masonic Hall Foundation, as Research Historian for the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, and as Civil War Projects Coordinator for the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU. Finch, a recipient of the Scott Hartwig Fellowship at the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, serves on the board of directors for the Slave Dwelling Project, the Tennessee Preservation Trust, the Franklin Justice Equity Coalition, and is an Advisory Board member for the African American Heritage Society of Williamson County. She also serves on the City of Franklin’s Civil War Historical Commission, and is a representative of the 2nd year cohort of the Southeastern Museum Conference Leadership Institute. Finch is routinely a featured speaker at conferences and workshops and has appeared in several award-winning documentaries including Duality: A Collection of Afro-Indigenous Perspectives,  The American South As We Know It and Desperate Days: The Last Hope for the Confederacy.

Amber N. Mitchell is the Curator of Black History at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, MI. As a public historian, Amber strives to tell the stories of underrepresented peoples in cultural institutions and transform cultural and historical institutions into accessible reflections of our communities. Before joining The Henry Ford, Amber worked at Whitney Plantation, the National WWII Museum, and the American Association for State and Local History. She holds a master’s degree in History from Indiana University and a bachelor’s in History from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.

Nicole A. Moore is a public historian with 10 years’ experience interpreting the lives of the enslaved. She has facilitated workshops on best practices around the interpretation of slavery and has conducted training sessions at historic sites across the Southeast. Ms. Moore serves on the board of directors for the National Council on Public History and is an active member of the American Association for State and Local History. Her publications include chapters in Interpreting Slavery and Interpreting the Civil War for Museums & Historic Sites as well as the forthcoming Radical Roots: Civic Engagement, Public History and a Tradition of Social Justice Activism. Ms. Moore is currently director of education at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia.

Frederick Murphy is the founder of History Before Us, LLC, a project centered on capturing, preserving and advocating influential history. His first film, the award-winning The American South as We Know It, explores the lives of survivors of Jim Crow—the courageous individuals who didn’t make the headlines. His second documentary, The Other Side of the Coin: Race, Generations & Reconciliation, was released on September 2, 2020. A collection of experiences and thoughts addressing the complexities of race in America, the film asks, “How do we reconcile for the sake of future generations and humanity?” Mr. Murphy is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor who finds joy in helping people achieve and retain an optimum level of functioning by focusing on their holistic health. He has a master’s degree in Transformative Leadership and serves on the board of the James K. Polk historic site in Pineville, North Carolina.

Tanya Timmons, treasurer of the Slave Dwelling Project, has a love for history and believes strongly that if you don’t know your past, you can’t appreciate your future. In addition to her responsibilities with SDP, Tanya serves as PTSA treasurer for Ashley Ridge High School (Summerville, SC) and is a member of the Dorchester District 2 Communication Committee; she also works with the South Carolina AAU Football Organization. An active member of the Planner Community, Ms. Timmons serves as the South Carolina Chapter Vice President of Black Women Who Plan and Create. She is a past project manager for Advanced Technology International and has supported various Department of Defense programs, from program management activities to configuration, management and financial analysis and tracking. She is married with two children and a fur baby.

Jon Williams holds a BA in History from Wake Forest University, an MS in History (Secondary Education) from North Carolina A&T State University, and a Post-Master’s Certificate for School Administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Jon served as a high school Social Studies teacher for close to 20 years, and as a school administrator for over 8 years serving as Principal of a high school, a middle school, and an alternative school in addition to roles as an Assistant Principal.  He was named the McMichael High School Teacher of the Year for 2012-2013 and is a past recipient of the Marcellus Waddill Excellence in Teaching Award from Wake Forest University. Jon has now retired from North Carolina Public Schools and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Wake Forest University in the Education Department. On six different occasions, Williams has organized and facilitated Slave Dwelling Project programs and overnight stays for schools with which he was affiliated. He serves as the current Chair of the Slave Dwelling Project Board of Directors.  Jon has worked with Joe and the SDP since 2014, and he cherishes this important work so that the story of the people from the “small house” behind the “big house” can finally be told.