At the edge of Gadsden’s Wharf in Charleston, South Carolina, a shallow pool catches the harbor light. Look down, and the floor comes into focus: hundreds of engraved human figures, packed together in the configuration of a ship’s hold. The Tide Tribute sits beneath the International African American Museum on the site where an estimated 40% of enslaved Africans brought to the United States first set foot on American soil, and it tells you something essential about what lands on the Juneteenth table every June 19.

Black stone wall engraved with the words “I rise. I rise.” and “Maya Angelou, from ‘Still I Rise,’” with trees and a building visible in the background.
Photo credit: Jenn Allen.

Originally published on fooddrinklife.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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