The International African American Museum (IAAM) is a museum of African-American history being built in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, on the site where

Gadsden's Wharf Gadsden's Wharf is a wharf located in Charleston, South Carolina. It was the first destination for an estimated 100,000 enslaved Africans during the peak of the international slave trade. Some researchers have estimated that 40% of the enslaved Afr ...

, the disembarkation point of up to 40% of all American enslaved persons, once stood. Construction of the IAAM began in January 2020 after 20 years of planning. It is slated to open in January 2023.

Conception and construction

The idea of the museum was initiated by former Charleston Mayor

Joseph P. Riley Jr. Joseph Patrick Riley Jr. (born January 19, 1943) is an American politician who was the Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina. He was one of the longest serving mayors in the United States that is still living, having served 10 terms starting on De ...

The city had previously sold the land to a restaurateur, but after construction on the site discovered traces of

, Riley decided to repurchase the land. The construction budget of the museum is $75 million. Joe Riley raised money for the project as a private citizen. The $25 million private donation goal was met in 2018. The

South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and t ...

delayed a $25 million contribution to the project, which delayed construction of the 40,000-square-foot facility. The city of

North Charleston North Charleston is the third-largest city in the state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. On June 12, 1972, the city of North Charlest ...

donated $1 million to the project. Keith Sumney, the mayor of North Charleston, stated that he hoped the museum would include an exhibit on Liberty Hill, a historically black neighborhood in North Charleston. The design architect is Harry Cobb, of

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is an American architecture, architectural firm based in New York City, founded in 1955 by I. M. Pei and other associates.

, working in collaboration with

Moody Nolan Moody Nolan is based in Columbus, Ohio and is the largest African-American owned and operated architecture firm in the United States. In 2021, it was the recipient of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Architecture Firm Award. The firm pr ...

architectural firm of Columbus, Ohio; the exhibition designer is

Ralph Appelbaum Associates Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) is one of the world's longest-established and largest museum exhibition design firms with offices in New York City, London, Beijing, Berlin, Moscow, and Dubai.Bradford A. McKee, What's a Museum: What he says it i ...

and the landscape designer is

Walter Hood Walter J. Hood (born 1958, Charlotte, NC) is an American professor and former chair of landscape architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and principal of Hood Design Studio in Oakland, California. In 2019, Hood was awarded the MacA ...

, of Oakland, California. Kimmelman, Michael (28 March 2018).
Charleston Needs That African American Museum. And Now
. ''New York Times''. nytimes.com. Retrieved 1 April 2018. Print version, "In Charleston, a Museum Long Past Due", 29 March 2018, p. C1, 4. The museum will be built on the Cooper River, with a view towards

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...

and out to the Atlantic Ocean.

References

External links

International African American Museum
{{coord, 32.7886, -79.9254, display=title African-American history in Charleston, South Carolina Proposed museums in the United States African-American museums in South Carolina Museums in Charleston, South Carolina