Hi all, this is Sydney Long and I chose to do my research project on the development of 6 Chalmers Street, from its time as one of the most successful slave markets to a modern-day museum honoring African-American history. This location stands out to me because it has endured so many vast changes and it has adapted to fit whatever the owner of the time intended the place to be. From housing an extremely successful slave mart to acting as an auto repair store and now a museum, I am fascinated with the building’s hidden history. So far in my research I have found that the building serves as a representation of Charlestonians view on African-American history and historic preservation. As an example, for several years the building was used as a site to sell meals that aligned with “slave recipes” which so clearly represents the ignorance that many Charlestonians held at the time, as this food was sold not even 100 years since the last slave was sold in the very same room. Another interesting connection my research has shown me was the influence of Susan Pringle Frost on the history of the Old Slave Mart Museum. I enjoyed our in class discussion on Frost surrounding her work creating the Preservation Society of Charleston, and my research made the connection that it was Frost herself who sold Miriam Wilson the Old Slave Mart, who would go on to renovate the location and open it for future generations to learn from.

Hey, I’m Mary Hughes Lawrence and I chose to do my research on the debutante ball. I am researching how this event has changed over time and negative stereotypes associated with this event. I chose to do this topic because I will be attending a debutante ball in my hometown this year and I will also be a debutante my junior year of college. I honestly did not know much about this topic until I started doing research. The only thing I really knew was that the debutantes had to wear a white wedding dress and gloves and the meaning of it was for girls to be presented to society. Through my research I have learned that the debutante society was extremely hard to get into and was often kept secret. To get in you had to be wealthy and have the right connections to the right people. In the past the debutante was to present daughters into society to get married, while today it is not like that and is more for community building, the experience, and to keep a tradition alive. While some of the traditions and customs of the debutante have changed, many have stayed the same. White dress and gloves, a waltz, a presentation of the girls, and roses have remained constant throughout the years. This event is present all over the United States but is really practiced in the South, a big debutante ball is right here in Charleston. Through my paper I am hoping to draw connections on how this event reflects southern culture as well refuting negative stereotypes associated with this event.

Hey everyone, I am Maggie May and I chose to do my research on changes within country music.  I am researching how soul and hillbilly music blended together in Nashville to help bridge both racial and cultural divides.  From the music of Charley Pride and Earl Scruggs, the sounds and image of country music changed to reflect the changes that were happening across the United States.  I chose this topic because I found it very interesting that people telling their stories through songs were able to bring people together and forge new relationships in the studios of several record labels.  I knew a small amount about this topic through many family members who lived in the hills of Virginia who remembered that they felt like people had a better understanding of who they were and what they stood for. I hope to discuss how these musicians provided a voice and created an identity for their people in country music while also reworking the music and the sound to reflect these new ideas coming onto the stage. These styles changed both studio sessions and on stage performances while bringing new light to what everyone assumed a fading craft. Through my paper, I am hoping to highlight how the genre and the country changed as a result of these newly incorporated styles.

All of our topics tackle different issues of race, identity, gender, and social classes. That being said, our topics all center around the development of southern identity through time and the acknowledgement of social classes’ influence on society. Sydney’s topic investigates the acknowledgement of African-American history, which has previously been intentionally covered up and hidden by wealthy white social classes. Due to civil rights movements and transferral of ownerships allowed for the once booming slave mart to now serve as a museum to honor a section of Southern race and identity. Mary Hughes’ topic discusses the debutante which is associated with an elite white community and young women. She discusses the history of this tradition and how it has changed over the years. Maggie’s topic discusses the changes in country music that helped change ideals within the nation itself.  She discusses the new sounds and genre that changed the music and brought people closer together.

The Nathaniel Russell house is a beautiful house. The house has lots of small details that show wealth. When I looked at this house online it was already beautiful, but in person it was absolutely stunning. The outside of the house is a beautiful brick house and my eyes were drawn to the second floor of the house by the white gated balcony. I later discovered in the middle of the gate Nathaniel Russels monogram was in it. Not only was the house itself beautiful but also the gardens surrounding the house. You are led through the gardens before you enter around the back of the house and this was absolutely beautiful. All of the houses within the house show the wealth this family had. Many of the rooms had bright wallpaper and beautiful molding around the ceiling which contained real gold. Not only did the molding in the ceiling have real gold but also the china on the dining room table. Something that I thought was interesting was the bright floral carpet in one of the rooms of the house. There was a beautiful spiral staircase that we were not able to go up on but it added a nice touch to the house. A unique aspect of the house was that it had a curve to it and Mr Russel curved the doors to fit the curve of the house. Something that I thought was interesting in the house was the bed frame in the master bedroom. This bed is known as a rice bed because on the post of the beds are rice. I thought it was cool that throughout different rooms in the house there were portraits of each family member. (Dinning Room)(molding with gold as well as bright carpet)

This house is aesthetically beautiful as were many of the historic Charleston homes. I think these homes show the importance of showing off your wealth in the south. Mr Russell showed his wealth not only in the house but through little aspects of the house. Through the gold molding, mahogany doors, tea box, and many other little things that tied the house all together. The family was able to have all of this money because Nathaniel Russell did own slaves and was a prominet figure in the slave trade. 

I went on a guided tour of the house and one of the first things the tour guide told us about was about slaves. There were parts of the house that showed the slave quarters and the tour guide also showed us a room which looked out over the gardens and where the slaves would be working. Throughout the house however I would not say the site is trying to minimize the exposure to negative aspects, but it just was not there to be shown in different parts of the house. If I had not gone on a guided tour I would not have known that in certain rooms you would be greeted by slaves and lead to the room you needed to go to. The house does a good job of showing the presence of slaves by showing where the slave quarters were as well as a plaque explaining it.

I did not realize there were specific rooms for specific tasks in older homes. I thought that it was really interesting that if you were there for business you would be led to the study, while if you were there for entertainment you were led directly upstairs. Basically the bottom floor was the business floor and the second story was for entertainment and socialization purposes. This site reinforces the aspect of slavery in the south and that slave owners were very wealthy. This site also reinforces the stereotype that money was made off of slaves and that southern culture heavily relied on agriculture.

 While it  was not really discussed on the tour you can assume that the slaves sang spirituals while working on the plantation and throughout the house. Not having money was definitely not something the Russels were worried about because Mr Russel built this house because his other house was too small and did not show off his wealth enough. He would have not had this wealth if he did not have slaves. The aspects of portraits can be related back to the Gibbes. The portraits showed wealth and there were multiple portraits throughout the house. This house can also be related to the film “If These Walls could Talk” because the house was built off of slave labor.

Mary Hughes Lawrence

Last Friday night I decided to go to Hyman’s Seafood on Meeting street. I looked at the menu and noticed that there were southern side items within the menu which included fried okra, red rice, grits, and many more. I also noticed that this restaurant has a deep family history related to this building and Charleston. This family has been serving customers in that building for 131 years. The great grandfather of Eli and Aaron Hyman, W.M. Maier Karesh, started Souther Wholesales at this building in 1890. Karesh’s son-in-law, Herman Hyman, took over the company in 1924 and changed the name to Hyman’s Wholesale Company. The business was then passed down to third generation Wolf Maier Hyman who continued the wholesale business until 1986. Hyaman’s Wholesale Company has since been changed to Hyman’s Seafood and Aaron’s Deli in 1987. This is a family run business and is now being run by 4th generation Eli Hyman. Another cool fact about Hyman’s is that a ton of famous people have eaten there including people with ties to the south. Some of these people include Jimmy Buffet, Hootie and the Blowfish, Mel Gibson, Frederick Douglas IV, Sen. Lindsay Graham, Vanilla Ice, AC/DC, and many many more. Pictures of famous people and some of the family members can be seen all around the restaurant. There are also little plaques at each table telling you who has sat there. A sign I noticed in the restaurant said that 80% of how Hyman’s is know is by word of mouth, which I feel is a very “southern thing.”  For dinner I got fried shrimp, french fries, cole slaw, hush puppies, fried okra, and it was all washed down with a nice cold glass of sweet tea. Hyman’s normally serves boiled peanuts along with hushpuppies as an appetizer, but our waiter told us that there is a peanut shortage so unfortunately I was not able to enjoy the boiled peanuts. While many of the sides I would say are southern there were also some southern entrees. One of the most southern dishes I think is the shrimp and grits. The waitress also recommended the Carolina Delight which is referred to as shrimp and grits taken up a notch.  

(Cover of the Menu featuring Eli Hyman)

My roommate and I got to Hyman’s at kind of a busy time so we did have to wait about 30-40ish minutes but it was not too bad. We waited outside and luckily it was not too hot so it was not bad at all. As soon as we got seated our waiter came right over to ask us what we wanted to drink. The dining experience was great, the waiter was very tentative despite how busy they were. Every time when I was younger and my family would come to Charleston we always came to Hyman’s so it was kind of sad eating there without them, but the food was great. Every time I have been here everybody is super friendly and the service is very consistent. I love fried okra and anytime I can get it is a great day. My grandma would cook us dinner after church on Sunday’s and okra was often on the menu, so in some way okra reminds me of my grandma and family. 

I noticed on the menu that one of the side items you could get with your meal was red rice. I remember reading about the red rice in the Charleston Cookbook. The portion size was also rather large, I feel like this relates to the south. I relate this back to the reading about the Theodore Peed Turtle Party. In Theodore Peed Turtle Party there seemed to always be plenty of food which I feel is a rather southern thing. Along with the Turtle Party everybody seemed to be welcomed and greeted as if they were family. After my roommate and I were done with our meal and waiting on our check, a very nice lady in the Hyman family came and asked us how our meal was. Not only did she ask about our food she also asked us where we were from and what we were doing in Charleston. She was very kind and congratulated us about being at college and even told us to be safe walking back to the dorm since it was dark out.

The Gibbes museum is a great place for anybody to visit because there is a wide variety of many different types of art. While you may not be interested in what is in one gallery there is a good chance you will be interested in a piece of work in one of the many other galleries. Charleston Runner by Mary Edna Fraser may not be a piece you notice if you are looking through the museum in a hurry but if you slow down and look through all of the art you will see her Charleston Runner piece. 

Mary Edna Frasers batik piece titled Charlesten Runner to the eye may seem a bit more casual or boring than some of the other pieces at the museum, but the longer you look at the more you can understand from this piece. Mary Edna Frasers batik on silk collection has many different pieces but this was the piece on display at the Gibbes Museum. She works from an aerial perspective and these pieces often are derived from photographs she has taken from her family’s plane. Her work is inspired by where the sea, sky, and land coverage together. Each area she works on is carefully researched and looked at very carefully. She does this hiking the terrain, exploring waterways, using maps, and satellite images.

Mary Edna Fraser uses a very cool technique which is a great reason to come check out this work at the museum. Like I said earlier you would probably just look over this image, but if you knew the technique she uses you would definitely look at this image in a new way. Batik is a process in which removable wax is applied to fabric that creates areas that repel dye and the unwaxed places absorb the dye. Frasers combines chemical procion dyes, beeswax, and paraffin on silk to create her art work. This technique is traditional in Indonesia, China, Egypt, Singapore, and other places like that. This is an old technique and it is very cool the Mary Edna Fraser uses this in her work to represent different landscapes. 

From this image we can understand the technique Mary Edna Fraser uses. The colors she uses I think are very effective because they are not to bright, but they are also not to boring. You can really see the moments where the sky is touching the water and the land. This can be seen by the change in colors throughout to image. Some of her other works in the Earth collection show this better and you can tell as soon as you look at it. Charleston Runner requires a little bit more analyzing to determine these things.

Some historical and cultural concepts that can help viewers are listed above. These include knowing that this technique comes from Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, China, Azerbaijan, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and Singapore. We understand that this is a traditional technique used to dye textiles in these places. It is also useful to know that she captures these images using an aerial view and does extensive research on the landscape to create her images. Many of Mary Edna Frasers works are on display in the Charleston airport, this sets the tone for the beauty people are about to experience in this beautiful city.

Some resources that can help us interpret her art is to know where the initial photograph was taken and where her inspiration is coming from. I tried to research this but I did not have a lot of results. These pieces she does are all very beautiful and I think some of her other ones are a little bit easier to understand. The main thing to know to help determine the significance is to understand the technique she uses

Works Cited

“Outgoing Loans: Collaboration, Consideration, Negotiation.” Gibbes Museum of Art, 14 Nov. 2017, https://www.gibbesmuseum.org/news/outgoing-loans-collaboration-consideration-negotiation/.

“The History of Batik.” The History of Batik | The Batik Guild, https://www.batikguild.org.uk/batik/history.

“Force of Nature: CHARLESTON MAGAZINE.” CHARLESTON SC |, 18 Sept. 2018, https://charlestonmag.com/force_of_nature.

“Earth.” Mary Edna Fraser, 26 Aug. 2020, https://maryedna.com/archive/batiks/earth/.