Toni Morrison's 'A Bench by the Road' -- Sullivan's Island (SC) July 2012
Per the website of The Toni Morrison Society --
"The Bench by the Road Project is a memorial history and community outreach initiative of the Toni Morrison Society. The Project was launched on February 18, 2006, on the occasion of Toni Morrison's 75th Birthday.
The name "Bench by the Road" is taken from Morrison's remarks in a 1989 interview when she spoke of the absences of historical markers that help remember the lives of Africans who were enslaved and of how her fifth novel, Beloved, served this symbolic role:
'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 . . . There is no suitable memorial, or plaque, or wreath, or wall, or park, or skyscraper lobby. There's no 300-foot tower, there's no small bench by the road. There is not even a tree scored, an initial that I can visit or you can visit in Charleston or Savannah or New York or Providence or better still on the banks of the Mississippi. And because such a place doesn't exist . . . the book had to.'
The Bench (as pictured above) is a black steel memorial bench that measures 26 inches deep and either 72 (6ft) or 48 (4ft) inches long. The seat is made from ribbed steel, and the arms are 12 gauge 1-1/2" galvanized steel tubing.
The Bench has a bronze 6x9 inch naming plate mounted in the center of the Bench's back. The plate has the name of the site, the name of the sponsoring organization, and the date of the placement on the front of the plate. The Bench also comes with a bronze description plaque of approximately 12X18 inches. This plaque is be mounted in a cement foundation on the ground next to the bench and includes a general description of the Project."
The plaque pictured above in front of the bench reads:
"A BENCH BY THE ROAD
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 [here on Sullivan's Island at Fort Moultrie] 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.]"
This first bench was placed on Sullivan's Island (SC) in 2008.
In 2009, the second was installed in the town square in Oberlin (OH), a stop on the Underground Railroad and an abolitionist stronghold before the American Civil War.
Reportedly, there are now six benches, with more planned.
Image by Ron Cogswell on July 14, 2012, at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island (SC) using a Nikon D80.
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