Sunday, October 15
After a good night's sleep, we both woke up around 7:30 this morning to get ready for today's adventure. No leisurely morning so far for us on this trip!! Kathi and Eric are charter members of the new International African American Museum and received two free tickets to use during its first year. Kathi has been talking about this museum and her excitement about visiting it since last year when South Carolina became our destination. So after our morning coffee, a round of cheesy scrambled eggs, we showered, dressed and headed out the door to walk to the museum. As always, God blessed us with a beautiful day and our not quite a mile walk to the museum was very nice. I, shamefully, did not realize the role that Charleston played in the history of slavery in our country. Kathi had told me that something like 40-50% of black Americans can trace their family history back to Charleston because this is where the almost half the enslaved Africans who were brought to this country landed upon their arrival. Once in Charleston, they were auctioned off and began their lives of servitude to their new masters. When Kathi told me this I realized just how much I DON'T know about Black American History, because the history taught in most American schools is, literally, a very white-washed version. One really great thing about Charleston, is that the city has decided to embrace its true and real history and talk about the role that African American people have played not only in this city but in America. Much of what we are doing on our visit here this week revolves around Black American history and I am looking forward to every bit of it.
The museum is very well done, if a bit overwhelming in the amount of information available. I started out reading every little placard of information I walked by only to realize if I continued to do that it would take me more than one visit to read everything. Along with information about the slave trade and how miserable the ocean voyage from Africa to America was, there is a focus on individual stories. Stories of what life for a slave was like to what life as a Black American is like today. Stories of the fight for racial equality and those who lost their lives in that fight. Stories of how, as much as we like to think we have progressed in terms of racial equality, there is still racial prejudice and bias very much alive in this country. The stories are enlightening and heartbreaking.
Kathi wanted me to be sure to share some of the things she learned at the museum today, so she wrote out this list:
· In 1790, a group of free people of color in Charleston formed the Brown Fellowship Society. They had a school, built a building for social events, and even had a cemetery, all restricted to light skinned people of color. Being invited to join the group was an indicator of social status. The organization continued into the 1990s. Growing up in Indianapolis, I always wondered about the light-skinned Black people I knew. Entire families were so light, and somehow always found other light-skinned Black people to marry and with whom to socialize. Maybe there was a Brown Fellowship of Indianapolis I knew nothing about.
· In 1807, Congress banned the Transatlantic slave trade, effective January 1, 1808. By then, South Carolina was the only state continuing to import Africans. African captives continues arriving through the illegal international trade.
· In 1892, a mixed-race man named Homer Plessy deliberately violated Louisiana’s Separate Car Act of 1890 by boarding a whites-only train car in New Orleans. The law required "equal, but separate" railroad accommodations for white and non-white passengers. Plessy was charged under the Act. At his trial his lawyers argued that the the Act was unconstitutional and that the judge (John Howard Ferguson) should dismiss the charges. Ferguson denied the request, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld his ruling on appeal, and then Plessy appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Plessy’s lawyers argued that the Louisiana law fundamentally implied that Black people were inferior. In a decision now considered to be the Supreme Court’s worst decision ever, the lawyers’ arguments were rejected. The Court stated that although the Fourteenth Amendment determined the legal equality of whites and Blacks, it did not mean that the elimination of all "distinctions based upon color" was required. I knew all about Plessy v Ferguson before reading about this at the museum, however that was because I had been in a play about the case. I was probably 40 years old at the time, well past high school, which is when I should have learned about a case like this.
· On February 8, 1968, state highway patrolmen in Orangeburg, NC, shot and killed Samuel Hammond, Delano Middleton, and Henry Smith at South Carolina State. Students at the school had been peacefully protesting a local, segregated bowling alley. In response, white patrolmen shot directly into the crowd, killing these three students, and wounding 28 more. The federal government pressed charges against the troopers for excessive force. They were acquitted. This is called The Orangeburg Massacre. I’ve never heard of it. Have you?
Along with the written word telling these stories there is art that depicts the Black American story as well as videos of Black Americans talking about their experiences, past and present. I sometimes forget how I benefit from being born white and take my white privilege for granted. This is a place where the differences between the white experience and the black experience is highlighted. A place that makes one give thought to what it would be like to walk in the shoes of someone born with black skin.
If ever you find yourself in Charleston, South Carolina, I would highly recommend a visit to this museum. But be prepared to walk and stand for a minimum of 4 hours to take in even a small portion of what is offered there.
We walked back to the condo and spent the afternoon doing Kathi/Lori things. Kathi typing, Lori napping. We got a good surprise today. Somewhere around 4:00 pm, Rico called Kathi and said that Amara continues to feel better and has again tested negative. And . . . they would be in Charleston later tonight!! Kathi is walking on air. She was really down about them not coming. Such great news.
We had made plans the night before to do an escape room with Stephanie and Steven and we booked a 7:15 reservation to escape "The Witches Attic" at Escape 60, which is just around the corner from where we are staying. We left the room around 6ish, though, to do a photo walk around the neighborhood (the French Quarter of Charleston), which is quite charming, lined with historic and interesting buildings.
We met up with Stephanie and Steven for our Escape Room adventure and began our attempt at 7:15. This was a great escape room. It was dark and gloomy, so dark & gloomy in fact, that we had to use our phone flashlights to see what we were doing. There were many puzzles to be solved, only a couple of keys to be found and lots of boxes and drawers that popped open when we correctly solved the puzzles. This was Stephanie and Steven's first escape room experience and they were awesome partners!! They were completely into it and with the 4 of us putting our brains to good use we escaped with nearly 10 minutes left!! For those of you who have followed Girls Weekend through the years you may know that Kathi and I have only successfully escaped ONE room prior to this, so this was VERY exciting for us!! Thank you, Stephanie and Steven, for joining us and adding one more success to our record!
We parted ways after the escape room and returned to the condo where we watched another episode of "The Morning Show" (highly recommend) then went to bed.
Oh! Almost forgot! Kathi tossed the states and only one remained face up which determines our destination for next year.
We will be going to.....................North Dakota!!
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