Yesterday we visited McLeod Plantation, one of many former southern plantation’s that gives tours near Charleston, South Carolina. A major difference berween the McLeod Plantation and all of the others is that it is owned by Charleston County Park, Recreation and Tourism Commission rather than the heirs of the original planation owners. It is also a member of the International Coalition of Sites of Consciousness, that focuses on transforming places that preserve the past into spaces that promote civic action.
The McLeod Plantation has been controversial because it introduces you to the Gathers and Dawson families, who were enslaved on the plantation, as well as the McLeods. It talks about the free black Massachusetts 55th Volunteer Infantry emancipating the enslaved people and using the planation as headquarters as well as the plantation being the headquarters for the James Island Freedman’s Bureau during Reconstruction. It tells the truth about the brutal treatment of the enslaved people on a sea island cotton plantation and the plight of Black folks in Charleston even to this day.
In case you cannot tell, if you find yourself in Charleston, highly recommend this tour!
Perspectives on the Road 
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