Workshop promotes preservation of slave antiquities

U.S. Department of State representatives were proud to attend the first of two workshops in South Carolina where cultural leaders from many international countries discussed policies on how to protect slave sights and antiquities.
The Feb. 27 workshop benefited the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent.
“The workshop focused on legal, national, community and other strategies to protect this heritage from damage and loss due to vandalism, theft and other threats,” the State Department website said.
In addition, to discussing slave sights and antiquities, leaders spoke about the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Leaders from South Africa, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Mozambique, Jamaica, Ghana, Colombia and Brazil were present at the workshop, which was put on by the U.S. National Park Service.
A second workshop in April will also give international leaders a chance to discuss the slave trade and historic and archaeological site management.
“The workshop is the first of two organized to support cultural heritage professionals from partner countries in their efforts to apply cultural preservation policies and best practices at slave trade sites, improve protection of sites associated with the slave trade, foster community engagement as a means of site protection, and support terrestrial and submerged resource survey and stewardship,” the State Department website said.