Slavery's history in Florida will be the topic of a presentation next month by the director of the Slave Dwelling Project at Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.
The Slave Dwelling Project, headed by Joseph McGill, is dedicated to preserving surviving African American slave dwellings, and seeks to change the narrative around the history of slavery in the United States. Mr. McGill will host the free Jacksonville Slave Dwelling event, which is open to the public, Tuesday, May 15, at Kingsley Plantation from 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
“Since 2010, the Slave Dwelling Project has spent nights in slave dwellings in 19 states and the District of Columbia. We are proud that Florida will be added to the portfolio in 2018,” said Mr. McGill.
Florida's history of slavery and African American history are not well known, and Kingsley Plantation provides a unique location to share that story more broadly. With activity recorded as early as 1763, Jacksonville’s Kingsley Plantation on Fort George Island is one of the oldest properties remaining in Florida from the plantation era. The property includes the historic main plantation building as well as 25 of the original cabins that housed the enslaved community.
"Hosting the Slave Dwelling Project at Kingsley Plantation is a rare nighttime program that helps our park highlight the tawdry slave quarters and the lives of enslaved people, but beyond that, the program will foster discussion, learning and hopefully a better understanding of these places as essential settings in the telling of the American story,” said Timucuan Preserve Superintendent Chris Hughes.
The Jacksonville Slave Dwelling event is intended to highlight African American history in Florida, in the Northeast region of Florida in particular, as well as discuss slavery, racial injustice and social justice that are especially relevant today. Programming planned for the Jacksonville event includes highlighting the importance of the Kingsley preservation effort, telling the stories associated with why these dwellings existed, and how they have been preserved.
Additionally, Mr. McGill will participate in a panel session on under-represented history Thursday, May 17, at the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation’s Florida Preservation Conference. He will also serve as the conference’s general session keynote speaker Friday, May 18. Information on conference registration is available at floridatrust.org.
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