Staff reports | An Oct. 3 fundraiser McLeod Plantation Historic Site will be a benefit for the McLeod Project, which supports African American history, culture and art, and raises awareness about preservation efforts of the site’s Sankofa Memorial Garden.
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.
IN THIS EDITION
PHOTO FOCUS: A study in black and white
COMMENTARY, Brack: Here’s to two good friends who will be just a click away
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: SCIWAY
ANOTHER VIEW, Palm: Suffer the children
NEWS BRIEFS: COVID-19 cases in state top 200,000
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
MYSTERY PHOTO: So, who’s the king?
CALENDAR: Gibbes to offer annual Antique Stroll on Dec. 2
NOV. 18, 2019 | Two historic Charleston County parks are now internationally-recognized “Sites of Conscience” by a worldwide network of 230 sites in 55 countries.
According to a press release from the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission, Caw Caw Interpretive Center in Ravenel and McLeod Plantation Historic Site on James Island are now part of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience — places that confront the history of what happened at the site and lasting impacts.
“You have done great work already reimagining the historic plantation experience and we are eager to be a part of your continued journey,” International Coalition of Sites of Conscience Executive Director Elizabeth Silkes wrote in a letter to the parks commission.
According to release, “Sites of Conscience ‘face all aspects of history and also activate the historical perspective with dynamic public dialogue on related issues we face today and what we can do about them.’
IN THIS EDITION
FOCUS: McLeod Plantation, Caw Caw park win international honor
COMMENTARY: Investing in prevention is investing in S.C.’s future
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Titan Termite & Pest Control
GOOD NEWS: Nonprofit engages community to improve literacy
FEEDBACK: Get it off your chest — send us a letter!
MYSTERY PHOTO: Not a house in a subdivision
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Promised Land
CALENDAR: Special markets set for downtown, West Ashley, Mount Pleasant
Staff reports | A one-day pop-up photography exhibit on Aug. 20 at McLeod Plantation Historic Site will feature photos from award-winning photographer Pete Marovich from his exhibit entitled Shadows of the Gullah Geechee.
Marovich’s photographs explore the lives and culture of the Gullah Geechee people in communities from Hog Hammock on Sapelo Island, Ga., to Mosquito Beach on Sol Legare Island in Charleston County.
Staff reports | Charleston International Airport had 7 percent more people heading to one of 18 non-stop destinations in the first four months of the year, compared to last year in what is a traditionally slower traveling season. In the same period, 5.6 percent more people flew into the airport.
Also in Good News: Charleston County Public Library’s new reusable bags; Charleston School of Law President Ed Bell’s accolade; and Sea Island cotton again being grown here at McLeod Plantation.
We like the way that the letters in this photo are accented by architectural details of the building they are on. It’s obvious what the build is, but where is it? Send your best guess to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com — and make sure to include the name of the town in which you live.
There’s at least one place in Charleston that doesn’t need to fool with all of the legislative nonsense over state Sen. Lee Bright’s transgender “bathroom bill” as is clearly labeled in this photo by editor Andy Brack. But where is it? Send your best guess to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com — and make sure to include the name of the town in which you live.
Rotarian and retired educator Fred Sales of James Island sent along this gate for consideration as a Mystery Photo. Where is it? Hint: Somewhere on peninsular Charleston. Send your guess and the town in which you live to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com. Be specific about the location!
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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