The grave markers in Brutontown Cemetery are stark reminders of segregation and the untold African-American narratives in the Greenville community. Amid a tangle of vines and roots, the stones point to residents \u2013 some believed to be slaves \u2013 who were buried at the hillside cemetery carved out for the indigent after the Civil War.<\/p>\n
Furman graduate Emilee O\u2019Brien \u201917 and Communication Studies Associate Professor Brandon Inabinet aim to not only remember those who are buried but to also show the importance of telling their stories. This was the goal of the March alternative spring break they organized as part of the recommendations of Furman\u2019s Task Force on Slavery and Justice.<\/p>\n
Representing a diverse range of majors, 11 Furman students participated in the \u201cSeeking Abraham: Slavery and Public Memory\u201d alternative spring break with service learning in Greenville and Charleston. In Greenville, the students researched family records of those interred at Brutontown, built relationships with Brutontown residents, advocated for the preservation of a Jim Crow-era clinic, McClaren Medical Shelter, and visited the Upcountry History Museum and the Museum and Library of Confederate History.<\/p>\n
In Charleston, they visited McLeod Plantation, which was built by slaves in the 1850s, took a Gullah Geechee culture tour, learned about racial reconciliation initiatives at a local church, met with Furman Board of Trustees Chair Alec Taylor \u201975 and toured the Old Slave Mart.<\/p>\n
Adare Smith \u201920 of Greenwood, South Carolina, said researching Furman Library archives and visiting McLeod Plantation were the most memorable for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love history,\u201d she said. \u201cSo being able to step in the same places and touch the same things that figures from the past touched was really moving for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furman students became engrossed in resources and databases such as Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com. They presented findings to Brutontown community member Shelby Richards, who was \u201cblown away\u201d by the details students uncovered. Marriage certificates and records about military service, births and deaths all helped piece together lost narratives.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause, a headstone doesn\u2019t tell a story,\u201d said O\u2019Brien, who is committed to sustaining a dialog with Brutontown.<\/p>\n
She says this particular component of the experience went a long way toward building bonds with the community\u2019s stakeholders and telling stories.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the privilege of great resources at Furman and a strong desire to share those resources in a mutually beneficial relationship,\u201d O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n
For sophomore history major Jens Par, the multi-faceted experience was the very essence of engaged learning and The Furman Advantage<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMy group opened up and shared their personal experiences throughout the trip,\u201d said Par. \u201cThat taught me to be more aware of my surroundings and that I have so much more to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith, an English major with a passion for the arts, was struck by the sheer power of storytelling.<\/p>\n \u201cStories are gateways into history and can act as agents of change,\u201d she said. \u201cThis spring break I learned that I can tell stories \u2014 stories that educate, that share experience, stories that effect change.\u201d<\/p>\n