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Join us for a compelling conversation with Joseph McGill, founder of the Slave Dwelling Project, and Herb Frazier, award-winning journalist from the Charleston City Paper. Together, they will delve into the powerful stories of enslaved people, as McGill’s project brings attention to the preservation of former slave dwellings across the United States. Through this collaborative dialogue, McGill and Frazier will explore the history, the cultural significance of these sites, and the ongoing efforts to ensure their stories are not forgotten. This talk offers a unique opportunity to engage with two passionate advocates for historical preservation and understanding.
About the Speakers:
Herb Frazier is a Charleston-based writer and special projects editor for the Charleston City Paper. A former marketing director at Magnolia Plantation, he has a distinguished career in journalism, having reported and edited for five Southern newspapers, including The Post and Courier. In 1990, the South Carolina Press Association named him Journalist of the Year.
Herb has taught news writing at Rhodes University in South Africa and led journalism workshops in several countries, including Sierra Leone and Ghana. His international reporting spans from covering the fall of the Berlin Wall to post-war relief efforts in Bosnia and Rwanda. He has written extensively about the Gullah Geechee culture and served on the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission.
Herb is the author of Behind God’s Back: Gullah Memories and co-author of We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel. His latest book, Sleeping with the Ancestors, is a collaboration with Joseph McGill.
Joseph McGill, Jr. is the founder and executive director of the Slave Dwelling Project, which highlights the importance of preserving slave dwellings across the United States. By organizing overnights in these historic sites, McGill has brought attention to their cultural significance. Since its inception, he has conducted over 250 overnights in 150 locations across 25 states and Washington, D.C.
A Civil War reenactor and living history presenter, McGill also launched the program "Inalienable Rights: Living History Through the Eyes of the Enslaved", engaging communities and schools.
He previously worked for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, revitalized Atlanta's Sweet Auburn district, and served as director at both the African American Museum in Cedar Rapids and Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. McGill’s experience includes working with the National Park Service as a ranger at Fort Sumter National Monument.
Co-author of Sleeping with the Ancestors, McGill is a respected historian, native of Kingstree, South Carolina, and an Air Force veteran. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Professional English from South Carolina State University.