At International African American Museum opening, a reclaiming of sacred ground for enslaved kin

By AARON MORRISON
AP National Writer

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The International African American Museum will soon open in Charleston, South Carolina, at one of the country’s most historically significant slave-trading ports. Overlooking the sacred site of Gadsden’s Wharf, at which an estimated 45% of enslaved Africans entered America, the museum houses exhibits and artifacts exploring how African Americans’ labor and resistance shaped the Carolinas, the nation and the world. It also includes a genealogy research center to help families trace their ancestors from their arrival on American soil. More than 23 years in the making, the museum had been originally set to open in 2020, but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as issues in the supply chain of materials needed to complete construction.