Included in this tour are sites illustrating the efforts of Black Charlestonians to take control over their lives and their communities. Whether they lived during the era of enslavement, endured the failed promises of Reconstruction, or struggled against the suffocating weight of Jim Crow laws and customs, the Black residents of Charleston seized social economic opportunities where they could and created their own opportunities to secure their place in the city’s social, cultural, and economic landscapes.

This tour was developed in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston. In Spring 2020, graduate students in Dr. Rachel Donaldson’s History 590 crafted 5 thematic tours focusing on the history of slavery and its enduring legacies in the city of Charleston. Using the College of Charleston as the center, the tours move outward from the campus in a radius of eight blocks or less to the north, south, east, and west to sites that reveal stories of community endurance, resistance, fellowship, and agency. While we emphasized sites and structures that remain visible in the built environment, we also uncovered the stories of sites that have been lost over time. Our work, as we see it, is part of current efforts to uncover, document, and interpret the history and legacy of slavery on the cultural landscape.