Charleston Currents – Slave Dwelling Project

FOCUS: Prints in Clay at Gaillard to celebrate spirituals, culture

Staff reports | As the last vestiges of summer are replaced by the chaos of back to school, the Charleston Gaillard Center is bringing the Lowcountry a reason to celebrate fall with Prints In Clay, a multi-disciplinary event celebrating the impact of the African-American culture on the city of Charleston.

Prints in Clay features an evening of commissioned arrangements of African–American spirituals featuring the powerful voice of mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges accompanied by an instrumental septet and Lowcountry Voices as well as a two-week photography exhibit by the Slave Dwelling Project in the grand lobby of the Gaillard, tours of the back buildings and former work lots of Charleston’s private historic homes, and a historically informed dinner featuring the food of the African diaspora.

The event title, Prints in Clay, comes directly from Joe McGill, founder of the Slave Dwelling Project. In describing one patron’s experience during a slave dwelling tour, McGill noted …

by Andy Brack · 08/27/2018 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: Program offers chance to spend night in Old Jail — voluntarily

Staff reports | The Slave Dwelling Project will host a March 4 discussion of recidivism during a at the Old Charleston Jail. Following the discussion will be a chance for listeners to spend the night in the building.

The Slave Dwelling Project uses antebellum historic buildings as classrooms to interpret African American history. The jail was built in 1802 using slave labor and slave-made bricks. Members of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry were held captive there after they were captured during the Assault on Battery Wagner on Morris Island on July 18, 1863.

During the March 4 event, Charleston County Public Library historian Nic Butler will discuss the history of law enforcement in Charleston County. Charleston Interim Chief of Police Jerome Taylor will address the audience on programs that the Charleston Police Department has in place to address the recidivism rate of African Americans. African Americans represent a disproportionate rate of inmates in the American prison system.