International African American Museum — Attraction in Charleston

It's taken a couple of days for me to get my thoughts together after visiting the museum. I was particularly hard hit by something that personally affected my family.

The museum does a great job of showing the totality of things. The focus is South Carolina, US, and International. I spent over 6 hours in the museum. I was surprised to see so much beautiful art and an exhibit on the "Praise House.""" The flow of the museum is amazing. The building is large, but there are basically two levels. The patio area is peaceful and a good place for reflection. There is seating and art. The second level is a mix of artifacts, films, and videos and also an area for genealogy. There was so much information.

I just happened to be the library area when a basic genealogy overview class was being offered, so I attended. I've been working on my family tree for a while. I had some information on great, great grand parents, but there was confusion with some of the dates. The specialists found the record of my great, great grandmother, and attached to it was the source document (handwritten). As we read across, we found her death date and how she died. Her cause of death was smothering. The museum has rooms where you can go and take some time for yourself if you become overwhelmed. I had to visit one of these rooms. It helped.

I highly recommend the museum. I learned that they can do a virtual session to help you with your family tree. This service is open to all, any race. The information can be found on there website, I planned to use it.

This is not a complaint, but I got off of a bus and was standing across the street from the museum. I was looking around because I didn't know where it was. I was looking for a sign. The bus driver opened the door and pointed it out. As I was leaving, people got off the bus looking for the museum, and the bus driver told them to cross the street. Once I crossed the street, there was a sign. It's a huge brown building. And honestly, it's beautiful the way it is. I wouldn't add anything to the building, but by the bus stop, maybe an arrow or something pointing to the building. I hope to be able to visit again...

After all these centuries, there is still an undercurrent of the status quo. On a recent visit, a friend and I followed the usual procedure by passing through walk through scanners, additionally through a second check point scanner by three employees. This is normal procedure, however it turn out to be excessive and these employees rude and unfriendly in the process. I am 55+, walking with a cane, and my friend, who is 20 years my senior, wondered why a third inspection of one of our pocketbooks was requested when we had been scanned twice, as well as the purse checked twice. Nonetheless, I politely removed all the contents and placed them on the table, so that one of these employees could see at the bottom of my purse, and then placed the contents back in. For some reason as I was doing so this set off a chain of events, including a moderately emotional and loud reminder of policy, and also proceeded to involve other security officers and staff members who also seemed a bit emotional as well, as if we were a threat. Our expectations was to have an enjoyable evening, and this put a damper on entire experience. We were dressed up and happy before this incident, then not so much thereafter. The overall attitude was very unwelcoming and unprofessional-and for what we went through we viewed these staff members as antagonistic and abusive in their authoritative roles; lacking verbal communication and customer service skills. We are both locals, and my friend and I have witnessed many changes in Charleston. In years as residents, efforts of many Black people who came before the creation of the IAM have lived the Gullah Geechee experience, and its their lives providing a significant platform for the IAM Museum. It is sad that locals, let anyone else should be treated disrespectfully as we were. Further if it were not for the contributions of the Gullah Geechee people these current employees would not be working in their roles they...

The visit to the museum on February 14, 2024, was very impressive. From the outside to the inside, there was much to see. Unaware that the museum was only a year old was even more remarkable. The staff, including the security officers of the museum, were friendly and pointed out the exterior exhibits (i.e., the Maya Angelou wall, sacred grounds in front of the harbor, and the gardens). Visitors are allowed to take pictures and video recordings. As an FYI, when recording, not everyone has the same respect, so please be aware.

Each display was well set up, and the visiting exhibits were also well-suited for the museum. As a visitor to the city, state, and museum, there was so much enrichment of the history and culture. That is, learning about multigenerational island history, agricultural lands, and spiritual lineage as well as the impact of the harbor.

FYI: Parking is not near the museum unless visitors are able to find street parking (may be metered parking). There is a parking garage available that cars, trucks, RVs, trailers, etc. can be used with free shuttle services. Four hours cost $12. Please call the museum for location and cost.

This museum started the 2024 journey of visiting as many African American museums that are open and operating in the nation. Some museums are being maliciously damaged, while others have been destroyed by natural disasters, and many are now in the process of remodeling and upgrading. It is imperative to visit such places, not only to gather what history books continue to leave out, but also, and very importantly, learning about the history of the people from these places. They often tie into larger stories and/or historical events that we are still very much unaware of. Support your city, state, and all the history that makes the area what...