PHOTO FOCUS: A study in black and white

By English Purcell, special to Charleston Currents |  I grew up on James Island and was always fascinated with McLeod Plantation.  Its slave quarters were visible near one of only two ways off the island. The owner at the time, Willie McLeod, always sat behind my grandmother at St. James Episcopal Church. 

More recently, I took one of the interpretive tours at McLeod.  It focused on enslaved Africans and their lives there. I decided to shoot the series from the perspective of the enslaved on a plantation to draw attention to what they saw in their everyday lives. I must note that the enslaved were not just on plantations. Behind just about every big house on the peninsula of Charleston were slave quarters: laundries, kitchen houses, carriage houses and stables. 

This series tells a story without words. The title “A study in black and white” has, of course, a double meaning: Black, representing the enslaved, and white, representing the slave owners.  I also edited the photos in black and white.

Each photo is meant to evoke an emotion. For example, there’s the diminutive size of the slave cabin versus the grandeur of the big house. I also can imagine the enslaved gathering near the big oak tree and peaking around it at the big house. In one of the photos, the tree is the focus, with the house a bit blurred in the background.

Many of the bricks used in the building of antebellum Charleston were made on plantations by the enslaved. You can often find their fingerprints if you look hard enough. The bricks in the chimney are a reminder of the immense contributions of enslaved Africans to the building of our city.  This series is meant to honor those who were enslaved and tell their story subtly, but poignantly.

English Purcell is a local photographer who also serves as an administrator of the popular Facebook group, “Charleston History before 1945, and serves on the board of trustees of the Charleston Museum.  Have a comment?  Send to:  feedback@charlestoncurrents.com