IAAM Opens to the Public
Suspended on pillars over Gadsons Wharf, the place where for over 150 years, untold thousands of kidnapped African Americans were landed to be sold into slavery, the IAAM officially opened this past weekend.
From the first slave-ship landing here, the labor of their generations built a city, began an indigo, then a rice industry. They operated a burgeoning maritime industry around the harbor and along the coast, crewing and piloting everything from small river bateaux to coastal steamers and schooners. Their presence would have been noticed in virtually every line of business that built the second largest deep water harbor commerce in the colonies.
African Americans also recognized the opportunities for escaping to freedom, using the waterways and seaways an additional dimension to the Underground Railroad. Escape from the deep south by the land-bound route was close to impossible. With the knowledge and experience gained, they enabled thousands to make their way to freedom by sea to the North, and even Canada.
Schooner Spirit of South Caroline Refits to start a Third Life
Meanwhile, just down the finger dock from the IAAM, easily visible from the Museum's terrace by her two towering wooden masts, lies a 19th century wooden sailing ship, a schooner, more specifically; the kind very likely to have been seen by the hundreds, sailing in and out of Charleston Harbor since the 1840's. Among her crew would have been a few free Black seamen, and a possibly one or two skilled, but enslaved sailors. Chances are, it was an African American mariner who piloted this vessel in and out of the harbor. At one time or another, she may have even harbored a stowaway or two seeking passage north, unknowing to the crew, or even with a crewman's help at their own risk. The stories they shared with folks on shore, of foreign lands, news of the world, particularly the rest of the country and the North, brought hope and fostered dreams of freedom that often led to action.
In reality, that schooner is our SSV Spirit of South Carolina, a replica of the 19th century "Francis Elizabeth". Except for the give-away little radar dome at her masthead, from a short walk away she would be indistinguishable from the typical coastal vessels working his harbor 180 years ago.
rground Railroad for African Americans escaping to freedom, particularly in the deep South.
Spirit of South Carolina can, and ought to be a significant platform for immersive, experiential education around the above themes. Partnering with IAAM, the Avery Institute, College of Charleston, and others, Spirit of South Carolina could host programs ranging from hour-long dock-side tours to themed cruises with ports of call supporting these themes.
Volunteers can play a part in growing this synergy.
- Advancing ideas on developing and executing programs
- Researching and drafting story lines, talking points, scripts
- Recruiting help
- Helping make a video
- Guiding an on-deck tour, leading a discussion,
- Reaching out- speaking to a group,
- Publicizing, posting ads,
Anybody else seeing an Opportunity for Synergy here?
Two themes arise;
-The African American contribution to the Maritime Heritage of the Low Country, in the skilled trades, commerce, skilled sailors, pilots, and captains.
-The significance of the Sea-borne dimension of the Underground Railroad
- Guiding a tour, Playing a role, leading a discussion
- Outreach-publicity; Contacting groups, telling the story,
Three Excellent Books that will expand on these topics(You may find them in the Spirit of South Carolina's Salon library, or :
I hope y'all are as excited about this as I am.
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