Enfilade

Overlapping with The Stono Legacy Project, a month-long commemoration of the 1739 Stono Rebellion, this year’s Slave Dwelling Project Conference will take place in a hybrid format, with in-person activities in and around Charleston as well as live-streamed virtual events. From the Call for Papers:

The 1739 Stono Rebellion and the Atlantic World
Seventh National Slave Dwelling Project Conference
College of Charleston, 8–10 September 2022

Proposals due by 1 May 2022

The Stono Rebellion, a transformative event in the history of enslavement in the Americas, tells a powerful story of resistance and resilience. In September 1739, against near-impossible odds, a group of enslaved South Carolinians south of Charleston armed themselves and set out to make their way to freedom in Spanish Florida. As they marched through the countryside, they were confronted by an armed white militia and engaged in bloody combat. Many of the rebels were murdered; others faced execution after the fighting or were re-enslaved. Only a handful survived into freedom. In its immediate aftermath, the 1739 Stono Rebellion led to restrictive slave codes in South Carolina, which quickly spread throughout the American South. At the same time, word of the courageous rebellion spread throughout the Atlantic world, inspiring multiple acts of defiance.

This early-American story of rebellion, resistance, and resilience powerfully impacted the 18th- and 19th-century Atlantic world, and continues to wield power today as we seek to unearth the full story of African American resistance to enslavement, and to celebrate the extraordinary legacy of African American resilience. The 2022 Slave Dwelling Project Conference: The Stono Rebellion and the Atlantic World seeks to examine not only the 1739 rebellion but also its remarkable legacy—one that continues to resonate throughout the world today in the ongoing fight for racial justice.

The conference will take place 8–10 September 2022, at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. Concurrent with The Stono Legacy Project, a month-long commemoration of the 1739 Stono Rebellion, this 7th national SDP conference will employ a hybrid format, with in-person activities in and around Charleston as well as a number of live-streamed virtual events.

Conference organizers welcome proposals for both 60-minute and 90-minute sessions on the Stono Rebellion itself as well as other important rebellions by enslaved Africans throughout the Atlantic World. We are also seeking sessions on the subsequent legacy of these events—up to and including the present day. We welcome both scholarly presentations, panels, and round-tables as well as sessions on historic sites and interpretation, and cultural offerings. Proposals will be accepted between 15 March 15 and 1 May 2022. Questions should be directed to the Slave Dwelling Project at slavedwellingproject@gmail.com.

Key partners in the 2022 Slave Dwelling Project Conference are the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World (CLAW) Program at the College of Charleston, the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, and the Slave Dwelling Project. Major funding for the conference has been generously provided by the 1772 Foundation.

Developed by a collective of cultural organizations, the Stono Legacy Project includes a month-long series of public programming surrounding South Carolina’s Stono Rebellion, its impact on antislavery and Civil Rights activism, and its contemporary relevance. Key partners in the Project are the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World (CLAW) Program at the College of Charleston; the Caw Caw Interpretive Center in Ravenel, SC; Charleston County Parks; the Fort Mose Historical Society in St. Augustine, FL; the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor; the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC; the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program; the Slave Dwelling Project; and historians Jane Landers of Vanderbilt University and Peter H. Wood, professor emeritus of Duke University.

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The Slave Dwelling Project envisions a future in which the hearts and minds of Americans acknowledge a more truthful and inclusive narrative of the history of the nation that honors the contributions of all our people, is embedded and preserved in the buildings and artifacts of people of African heritage, and inspires all Americans to acknowledge their Ancestors.

Mission
1  Raise awareness and organize resources to preserve, interpret, maintain and sustain extant slave dwellings and other structures significant to the stories of the enslaved Ancestors.
2  Bring together scholars and practitioners, preservationists, students and educators, writers, artists, legislators, organizations and businesses with the general public to:
• Change the narrative of American history and address the legacies of slavery,
• Preserve and sustain slave dwellings,
• Promote education about slavery and the contributions of African Americans,
• Engage in conversation about all these matters.
3  Support and encourage individuals and organizations to preserve and mark sites related to the institution of slavery and the legacy of slavery.
4  Educate ourselves and others about the intertwined history of Americans of African and European origins, from the country’s founding to the present, to help us rewrite the narrative of history, preserve slave dwellings, and have dialogue about the legacies of slavery.
5  Engage people in honest conversations about slavery, race, racism and racial equity in search of improved racial relations.

What We Do: The Slave Dwelling Project . . .
• Gives talks and presentations.
• Organizes and conducts overnight stays at sites associated with slavery.
• Presents living history programs, “Inalienable Rights: Living History through the Eyes of the Enslaved.”
• Holds a major conference annually and at least one mini-conference each year.
• Provides consultation and networking support for those interested in preserving an extant slave dwelling.