Old Exchange Building and Slave Dwelling Project Present Public Lecture on History of Slavery at Exchange
May 26, 2015
CHARLESTON, SC – The Old Exchange Building and the Slave Dwelling Project will present a public talk entitled, “The Enslaved at the Exchange: Uncovering Slavery at Charleston’s Cradle of Freedom,” at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, June 3, 2015. It will be held at the Old Exchange Building, located at 122 East Bay Street in Charleston, S.C. Joseph McGill, founder of the Slave Dwelling Project, and Edwin C. Breeden, a Ph. D. candidate at Rice University in Houston, Texas, will both speak.
The talk will focus on newly uncovered information that reveals how slavery and the slave trade played a crucial role in the Exchange’s history. It will also describe ongoing efforts to incorporate this material into the daily on-site interpretation of the building’s history.
“This side of the Exchange’s past has been neglected for far too long,” said Breeden, who has worked with the site since November as a researcher and consultant. “We’re working to change that, and we want to give people a glimpse of what we’ve found so far and where we’re headed.”
McGill and Breeden will also spend the night of June 6 inside the Exchange as part of the Slave Dwelling Project to highlight the historical importance of enslaved people and the places they dwelled. Enslaved people were among those the British imprisoned in the Exchange during the American Revolution. On June 3, McGill will discuss his work with the Project and the value of thinking of the Exchange as a “slave dwelling.”
“The research being conducted by Mr. Breeden is vital to filling in the gaps that exist when interpreting African American history,” said McGill. “While many antebellum buildings in Charleston have direct or indirect connections to enslaved African Americans, through Mr. Breeden’s research, the information about the Exchange will be available for public consumption.”
McGill and Breeden will present a similar lecture at the 2nd Annual Slave Dwelling Project Conference on October 8-10, 2015, at the Embassy Suites in North Charleston.
Admission is free, though donations are encouraged. Proceeds will go toward a new historic marker and interpretive panels on African Americans’ role at the Exchange as well as toward ongoing work by the Slave Dwelling Project.
The Old Exchange Building, ca. 1771, is an historic site and museum owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution and operated by the City of Charleston.
The Slave Dwelling Project is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to identifying and assisting in the preservation of extant slave dwellings.
