The Ellis Island for African Americans
That term is often used to describe Charleston, South Carolina, the major port of entry for most U.S. slaves during the 18th century. Starting in 1852, a depressingly large number of humans were auctioned at the Old Slave Mart:
Here’s more from Ethan J. Kytle and Blain Roberts, two history professors at California State University in Fresno, who emailed via hello@:
As authors of a forthcoming book on the memory of slavery in Charleston, South Carolina, we found both your documentary on the Whitney Plantation and your note about it, “How Many Museums Are Devoted to Slavery?,” fascinating. Since you invited readers who know of other good examples of slavery museums to write in, we thought we would clarify the history of the Old Slave Mart Museum, in Charleston.
The unofficial website you quote inaccurately reports that the Old Slave Mart Museum (OSMM) has operated sporadically since 1938. In truth, the OSMM is not only the first slavery museum in the United States, it has operated for the better part of the past century.
Read more from The Atlantic:
This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
