Life of Johns Island, 1959, during the Civil Rights Era.
The Gullah Society – Rattling Bones & Leonard Freed’s Black in White America Photographs on Exhibit
Exhibit Title: WOKE: Rattling Bones, Conversations, Sacred Rites and Holy Places
Curator: Gullah Society & Team Backpack Journalist/Leonard Freed’s Photography
Venue: City Gallery, Charleston, SC
Date: March 28th – May 6th 2018
WOKE: Rattling Bones, Conversations, Sacred Rites and Holy Places exhibition will engage the City of Charleston and nearby communities in conversations about the treatment of the thirty-six individuals uncovered in 2013 during construction at the Gaillard Center. Visitors to the City Gallery will be able to learn about the Anson Street Burials Project in preparation of the re-interment (reburial) of the skeletal remains.
Over the next year (February 2018-2019) Gullah Society will be working with the City of Charleston and other partners to provide a series of ‘Community Conversations‘, conduct DNA research and facilitate an education and arts program.
We are excited about this significant opportunity to reconcile this past and honor the people that were buried on this sacred ground. The remains of the thirty-six, African-descended, individuals are the earliest burials found in Charleston so far, dating to the mid-late 1700s. We hope that ancient DNA research will add to archaeological research already completed to help us learn more about the individuals that were buried at this site.
The City Gallery will serve as a laboratory where ‘Community Conversations’ will be held. We will also host a ‘History Harvest,’ Family History, DNA, and Genealogy workshops. We want to hear what you think are appropriate ways to remember and honor our ancestors buried near Anson Street. Through the community engagement, school and art programs we hope to explore what you would like to see for the memorial. We hope to increase our understanding of the identity of the people buried at this site and their genealogical connection to those of African descent living in Charleston today.
Leonard Freed’s
Documentary Photographs
We are pleased to announce that Leonard Freed’s photographs from his book: Black in White America are on display!
Curated by Team Backpack Journalists.
We continue to study life on Johns Island, during the Civil Rights Era, and found Leonard Freed’s work to include his journals and also the incredible photographs.
He also in his lifetime, produced 25 books of his photographs, with many notable to include THE DAY (March on Washington, with MLK when he spoke of “I have a dream”) and POLICE, and of course BLACK in WHITE America.
For more information:
Linda Dennis
843 284 8026 or email [email protected]