The Power of Place—The International African American Museum (IAAM) invites the public to “engage with history through transformative storytelling, remarkable artifacts and exhibitions, and a uniquely impactful power of place” (IAAM website). The IAAM takes full advantage of its location in Charleston, South Carolina on Gadsden’s Wharf. This wharf was the disembarkation point for nearly half of all the African people who were forcibly removed from their homelands across the continent of Africa and transported across oceans to the North American continent during the period of chattel enslavement.
Over a decade before the museum’s grand opening on June 27, 2023, the IAAM leveraged its power of place in multiple ways, from the selection of its leadership to the design of its building and grounds. Initial IAAM President and CEO Michael Boulware Moore is the great-great grandson of Robert Smalls, the congressman, US Civil War hero, and formerly enslaved man who commandeered a Confederate ship (the Planter) out of Charleston Harbor and helped shift the course of the war in South Carolina. The IAAM’s African Ancestors Memorial Garden was designed by acclaimed landscape architect Walter Hood, a MacArthur Foundation “genius” who helps reinterpret and reclaim spaces that embrace African American history, culture, and ecology. The entire building of the IAAM is positioned on the top of eighteen tabby-covered columns, a construction strategy crafted by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners to ensure that the actual structure would not conceal the hallowed ground below.1 The IAAM is rightfully, beautifully, heavy on the power of place.
The curatorial leadership continues the power of place thread throughout its museum exhibitions and programming. IAAM takes advantage of its format as a history museum with a mission to “honor the untold stories of the African American journey at one of our country’s most sacred sites” (IAAM website). The museum makes substantial progress delivering on this mission through its built space, its permanent exhibitions with accompanying digital supplements, and its additional programming. It attracts an average of eight hundred visitors daily, with more than fourteen thousand guests during its opening month. When I visited the museum in November 2023, I did not have to contend with the long entrance lines of the grand opening rush (I did have to contend with being frisked by security, an unwelcome yet understandable inconvenience given what took place at Mother Emmanuel Church, another sacred site in Charleston), but attendance still seemed robust for 11 am on a Wednesday. It took some time to make my way through a few crowds of student groups, family reunion members, tour groups, and many others once I entered the museum building. But before I encountered the groups inside, I took time to engage with the grounds outside.
The entrance of the IAAM, lined by dunes and Canary Island palm trees. (Photo by author)
The entrance of the IAAM, lined by dunes and Canary Island palm trees. (Photo by author)
An important and particularly difficult part of the stories of our African American journey include the horrors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The IAAM helps share parts of these stories through the African Ancestors Memorial Garden; it is fitting that this essential part of the museum is always open, and always free of charge. The three major components of the garden include a walkway featuring large granite mirrors, the ethnobotanical fields (featuring Canary Island palms and sweetgrass fields), and the profoundly important water element, the Tide Tribute. The museum’s main entrance faces the harbor, and the granite mirrors section of the memorial garden is located on the side of that entrance. Several large sections of black granite walls form an open columned walkway, with five kneeling statues positioned along the sides of the walkway. These statues represent “rice negroes,” the enslaved people, often children, who were forced to work in Lowcountry rice fields (the treacherous nature of rice cultivation during chattel slavery is explored in depth by several exhibitions inside the museum). This section of the memorial garden is situated on top of a former underground storehouse where enslaved African people were held prior to being sold on Charleston’s slave market. The museum details how more than seven hundred African people died between 1806 and 1807 from exposure to harsh weather conditions, confinement, and lack of nutrition while being held in the storehouse as their captors waited for market prices to increase.
The Charleston Harbor’s inlet to the Atlantic Ocean provides the backdrop and main water feature of the IAAM, and the Tide Tribute is an extension of that profoundly important element. It is located adjacent to the main entrance of the museum, flanked by the granite mirrors section and the ethnobotanical fields. As described by the museum, the Tide Tribute “is grounded in relief figures, each representative of a man, woman, or child who laid shackled in the bellies of ships that were once anchored steps away in Charleston Harbor. As the tide changes, the shallow pool of water fills and empties, covering and revealing the shapes of those it honors” (IAAM website). A cement walkway borders the Tide Tribute, with the names of multiple locations throughout the African diaspora inscribed along the path. The walkway extends into the ethnobotanical garden flowing from the sides, underneath, and in front of the museum building. Here, landscape architect Walter Hood’s intentional design helps the land tell a compelling story while providing beautiful respite spaces for visitors. Throughout this section of the garden, large wooden chairs are interspaced between plants and trees that came as seeds with many of our African ancestors. I sat on one of these chairs, looked out through the sunshine towards the ocean, listened to the quiet breeze around me and felt what museum designers and leaders likely want all visitors to feel: an open invitation to remembrance, reflection, and communion.
The granite mirror walkway with statues depicting “rice negroes.” (Photo by author)
The granite mirror walkway with statues depicting “rice negroes.” (Photo by author)
The grounds of the IAAM museum have the potential to adequately achieve its mission, but there is of course much more to see and experience inside the building. The museum’s permanent exhibition includes 150 historical objects, thirty works of art, and fifty films. These are augmented with revolving digital exhibits via Google’s arts and culture digital exhibits (each digital exhibit is available at no cost to the public). The permanent exhibits are organized into nine galleries: African Roots & African Routes, Trans-Atlantic Experience, American Journeys, Atlantic Worlds, Carolina Gold, Gullah Geechee, SC Connections, The Theater, and Special Exhibitions. I was warmly greeted by a museum docent who gave me a map and some suggestions for following the chronological sequence of exhibits. Despite the crowds of other visitors, the design of the interior allowed me to easily maneuver between each of the nine areas, and double back to a few of my favorites, such as the extensive presentation of the story of rice cultivation in the “Carolina Gold Gallery,” the immersive multi-sensory experience of “When it Rains It Shines” by native South Carolina artist Fletcher Williams III, or the striking floor-to-ceiling Mardi Gras masquerade suit, “Jah Defender,” handmade by artist and Big Chief Demond Melancon.
The water element, Tide Tribute, which faces and fills with water from the Charleston Harbor. (Photo by author)
The water element, Tide Tribute, which faces and fills with water from the Charleston Harbor. (Photo by author)
Oyster shells and corn silks from “When it Rains it Shines,” a multisensory exhibition experience by native South Carolina artist Fletcher Williams III. (Photo by author)
Oyster shells and corn silks from “When it Rains it Shines,” a multisensory exhibition experience by native South Carolina artist Fletcher Williams III. (Photo by author)
IAAM’s extensive curation enables the museum to deeply enhance public knowledge and debate on African American history and culture. It seems particularly well-suited for, as our elders are known to say, “such a time as this.” The general public and especially education professionals stand to learn much from the IAAM’s efforts as African American history—a fundamental part of our American story—is being reclaimed and reimagined beyond mere notions of reconciliation. This museum is building programs and audience relationships at a time of national book banning efforts and South Carolina’s own legislative attempts that threaten to severely limit the options public school educators will have to help students learn these stories. The additional programming available at the IAAM deepens the potential of this museum to be a transformational community asset, particularly for African American families seeking to uncover and share their own histories. I was encouraged by the “Finding Family” exhibit, which included an opportunity to share family stories using the multimedia recording tools available inside the Story Booth. Indeed, IAAM is helping its visitors thoughtfully engage with, and create their own, community-controlled narratives. It was especially inspiring to witness the “Golden Group” (approximately twenty Elders dressed in matching t-shirts) participate in a genealogy workshop; participants are reclaiming their stories for themselves, their descendants, and for the benefit of our greater American story.
Front view of “Jah Defender,” a handmade Mardi Gras suit by artist and Big Chief Demond Melancon. (Photo by author)
Front view of “Jah Defender,” a handmade Mardi Gras suit by artist and Big Chief Demond Melancon. (Photo by author)
Striking images of well-known and lesser-known African American family members in the “Finding Family” exhibit. (Photo by author)
Striking images of well-known and lesser-known African American family members in the “Finding Family” exhibit. (Photo by author)
A closing piece of advice for visitors: the IAAM has good accessibility for those with mobility needs, but parking near the building is extremely limited. Also, advance ticket purchase and appointments are still recommended, especially during peak visiting times. Finally, as you plan your first trip, you may as well go ahead and plan for a second one. The remarkable stories being shared at the IAAM cannot be sufficiently consumed in one visit.
Note
Tabby is a type of concrete made of oyster shells, lime, sand, and ashes. Some researchers suggest it was the first concrete material made and used in the United States. Tabby construction represents a blend of West African, Native American, and Spanish cultures. There are a few remaining tabby structures in the South Carolina Lowcountry.