Charleston’s Tourism Agency Creates Website To Tout African American History

Associated Press — Charleston’s tourism marketing organization is rolling out a new online platform about African-American history and culture in the region.

The new website, “Voices: Stories of Change,” is a complete overhaul of its predecessor, which had not been updated in about a decade, The Post and Courier reported.

Explore Charleston Deputy Director Perrin Lawson said work on the new site started about 18 months ago. The main takeaway, he said, was the wide range of perspectives gathered that led the team to seek local contributors with personal connections to the subject matter. For example, an article on Robert Smalls was written by International African American Museum CEO Michael Boulware Moore.

Smalls, who famously stole a Confederate ship in Charleston Harbor and later became one of the first African Americans elected to Congress, is Moore’s great-great grandfather.

Another contributor, Joseph McGill, wrote about his experience founding the Slave Dwelling Project. By spending the night in former slave dwellings and holding corresponding educational events, McGill has tried to raise awareness of those structures, which are often not restored.

Most of the pieces are relatively brief, between 300 and 500 words, and fall under a selection of themes. The articles are also connected to a timeline, which starts with pre-Colonial history and leads up to the present day.

Read the full story here.

 

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