The people who lived in slave dwellings were not a footnote to history, explains Joseph McGill. Since 1999, he has traveled the country, spending the night in original slave dwellings to highlight their existence, explore their history, and engage the public in conversations about history and race. He has gathered the key sites of his travels in his new book, “Sleeping with the Ancestors: How I Followed the Footprints of Slavery.”
The Our Story Matters gallery presents McGill and coauthor Herb Frazier in conversation with local radio personality Don Frierson on Sunday, February 1 8, 3 \mathrm { p. m }. , at the Columbia Museum of Art. The book will be available for purchase and signing. The gallery is a partnership of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research, Columbia SC 63 and the Museum of Art.
McGill is a historic preservationist who founded the Slave Dwelling Project in 2010 based on an idea that was sparked and first developed in 1999. Since founding the project, McGill has been touring the country, spending the night in former slave dwellings—throughout the South, but also the North and the West, where people are often surprised to learn that such structures exist. Events and gatherings are arranged around these overnight stays, and it provides a unique way to understand the often otherwise obscured and distorted history of slavery. The project has inspired difficult conversations about race in communities from South Carolina to Alabama to Texas to Minnesota to New York, and all over the United States.
“Sleeping with the Ancestors” digs deeper into the actual history of each location, using McGill’s own experience and conversations with the community to enhance those original stories. McGill and coauthor Frazier give readers an important unexpected immersion into the history of slavery, and especially the obscured and ignored aspects of that history.
Sleeping with the Ancestors, book talk and signing will be held on Sunday, February 1 8, 3 \mathrm { p. m } . at the Columbia Museum of Art.
Booker Washington Heights Neighborhood presents The Muldrows
The Booker Washington Heights Neighborhood Association will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, February 15 at 6:00 pm. Their featured presenters that evening will be James and Theresa Muldrow. The Muldrows present enlightening tidbits of information of interest to many age groups, especially seniors. The Muldrows encourage audience participation and sharing of life events. The focus is on potential scams, home title thefts, and other life issues that affect seniors in increasing numbers.
The Muldrows are the founders of an initiative called “Two Checks for Surviving Spouses” on Social Security. They are also the authors of their first book, Life’s Precious Possessions. They have
spoken to numerous community and church groups in South Carolina.
The public is invited to this evening of information and sharing at the Katherine Bellfield Cultural Arts Center. Ms. Regina Williams, is the BWH Association president.
