There is no place you or I can go, to think about or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves; nothing that reminds us of the ones who made the journey and of those who did not make it. There is no suitable memorial or plaque or wreath or wall or park or skyscraper lobby. There's no 300-foot tower. There is no small bench by the road.
Toni Morrison 1989
The Bench by the Road Project was launched by the Toni Morrison Society in honor of Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. The first bench is placed in memory of the enslaved Africans who perished during the Middle Passage and those who arrived on Sullivan's Island, a major point of entry for Africans who entered the U.S. during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Nearly half of all African Americans have ancestors who passed through Sullivan's' Island.
July 26, 2008
Toni Morrison Society, Inc.
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