Charleston, S.C. – A Beautiful City with a Divisive Past

As part of the research for my latest novel, "Karma Nation," my son Rishi and I traveled across the American South. My previous blogs recorded our explorations of Houston, New Orleans and Atlanta. In this blog, I share my impressions of Charleston, South Carolina.

Charleston is the epitome of Southern charm—a genteel, laid-back city with friendly people who treat visitors with exceptional grace and manners. In 2016, Conde Nast, the magazine for travelers, named it the “friendliest” city in the entire world. In 2018, Travel+Leisure, another reputed magazine, awarded it the Best City in America title for the sixth straight year.

Indeed, the recognitions are well-deserved. Blessed with natural beauty, well-preserved history and a vibrant cultural life, Charleston is a great place to visit or live in. We arrived in the city after visiting Atlanta and the contrast could not be greater: Atlanta was a huge modern city rushing into the future while Charleston took pride in preserving its past. Dotted with centuries old churches and antebellum-period plantations, it certainly introduced visitors to the charms of a bye-gone age.

One of our destinations in Charleston was the Old Slave Mart Museum. Situated on a picturesque cobble-stoned street a few blocks from the harbor, the museum, an erstwhile slave auction house, presented the stories of the trade that originally established the city.

According to historians, at least 40% of all slaves imported into America first landed in Charleston. By the middle of the 1700’s, Charleston became the only major city in America with a majority-enslaved population.

The Museum at one time contained a cook-house for slaves, a barracoon (a jail for slaves) and even a slave morgue. Now, only the auction area is preserved. The history of the slave trade, mementos of the period and personal recollection of the individual slaves themselves line its walls.

In 1807, Congress passed an act prohibiting the importation of slaves. Yet, another trade took its place. Interstate slave trade grew and Charleston became the center of that industry, until slavery’s final abolition by President Lincoln. The institution of slavery implicated many—slave traders, bankers, plantation owners, financiers, politicians, lawyers, shippers and even slave insurance providers. These deep roots, and the difficulty of uprooting them, bequeathed the state and the city with one of the most divisive pasts in American history.

But the city is moving on. In 2015, the Confederate flag was finally removed from the South Carolina State House.  Last year, the city council of Charleston officially apologized for the city’s role in the slave trade. More importantly, the city is planning to build the $75 million International African American Museum on land not far from the Old Slave Mart Museum. It promises to become an important part of the fabric of the city and will go far to present an aspect of American life that is not much exposed.

My son and I truly enjoyed our visit to this beautiful city. The city and its people are beginning to fill in the missing parts of its history and are making it available to everyone. It provides one more reason to plan our next visit to this friendly and captivating city!

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "Karma Nation", a literary romance. For more information, please visit: 

www.mohanashtakala.com 

www.bookswelove.com