Plumbers in Charleston, SC

Charleston, South Carolina, has a new museum that explores the history, culture and African Americans’ lasting impacts felt in Charleston, the United States, and around the world. The International African American Museum has been in the works for 23 years.

From the time visitors arrive on the museum’s grounds, they will immediately be greeted by history. The museum is located on the historic site of Gadsden’s Wharf.

During the African slave trade, South Carolina received more slaves than any other mainland colony. According to the Preservation Society of Charleston, more than 260,000 enslaved Africans entered South Carolina between 1670 to 1808. A majority of people enslaved disembarked at Gadsden’s Wharf. This location is where an estimated 45 percent enslaved Africans entered the United States.

Gadsden’s Wharf is the start of exploring the history of African Americans in Charleston through IAAM’s landscape.

Inside Charleston’s African American Museum

IAAM’s architecture is inspired by lead designer, Henry N. Cobb. He described the museum as “the place where thousands of Africans from diverse cultures first set foot in North America, Gadsden’s Wharf is not just the right place to tell this story; it is hallowed ground. The special design challenge of the museum is to build on this site without occupying it.”

Once inside, visitors can explore nine galleries, including the Transatlantic Experience, The Theater, Atlantic WorldsGullah Geechee, African Roots, and Carolina Gold. There’s also The South Carolina Connections, American Journeys and the Special Exhibitions.

Beyond the galleries are other spaces, such as the African Ancestors Memorial Garden, to reflect on the historic significance of Gadsden’s Wharf. The garden is a free and open space for the public to host informal and structured gatherings.

Walter Hood is the landscape artist behind the garden, which is surrounded by a shallow pool as a metaphor for the Atlantic. According to IAAM leadership, the design team envisioned this entry as both a destination and transitional space between the landscape and exhibition.

On the upper level of the museum is where the historical and cultural exhibits and the Center for Family History are located. Exhibit designer, Ralph Appelbaum, made it in a way for visitors to enjoy unobstructed views.

One of the most unique components of the museum is the Center for Family History. It will serve as way to actively help community members find connections between themselves and their ancestors.

This department is in charge of storing photos, marriage records and archival tools. It also has the largest collection of United States Colored Troop (USCT) records, outside of the National Archives. Visitors can also explore genealogical resources and educational tools to help discover more about their own stories.

“The IAAM is a must-see because it provides an unparalleled visual, auditory, and sensory experience that harnesses the power of place—our location at the historic Gadsden Wharf—to honor the untold stories of African American journeys throughout the Atlantic World,” Felice Knight, the director of education, tells Travel Noire.

Publix has a few words for pet-loving shoppers: Leave Fido and Fluffy at home.

The Lakeland, Fla.-based supermarket chain has started installing placards in its nearly 1,400 stores throughout the Southeast, including 17 in the Charleston region and 52 others in South Carolina, to remind customers that its longtime policy forbids animals unless they are specially trained service animals.

“A service animal is a dog or miniature horse that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks to assist an individual with a disability,” Publix said in a written statement. “Dogs, miniature horses or other animals that provide only emotional support, comfort or companionship are not considered service animals.”

The company adds: “We ask that non-service animals be removed from the premises.”

Publix spokesman Jared Glover told The Post and Courier: “We have the new signage in all stores, including South Carolina, and you’re correct our policy remains the same.”

Glover didn’t say what prompted the push for the new signage. He added that the grocery chain has banned all non-service animals from its store for years.

The reminders aren’t going over well with some customers.

A West Palm Beach, Fla., resident, told a local television station that she’ll boycott the grocer after being reminded that she can’t bring her dog to the store following their morning walk.

Others said they like the policy, because they don’t want to buy food near shedding animals or potentially aggressive pets.

Some recent social media posts might give a clue about the grocery chain’s renewed stance against in-store animals, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Those posts by Publix employees show one customer with a python wrapped around his arm and another with what the customer described as a pet squirrel.

Itinerant itinerary

The Charleston-based Carnival Sunshine has changed course in response to a medical emergency while in the Bahamas.

The pleasure ship diverted and stopped a day early at the port in Nassau on Aug. 21. That forced it to cancel its originally scheduled Monday sailing to the privately owned island of Half Moon Bay, according to a report on cruisehive.com.

Now, the Sunshine will visit Princess Cay on Aug. 22. It, too, is a private island and is about 15 miles from Half Moon.

The changes forced many passengers to cancel their Nassau shore excursions, which they had pre-booked for Tuesday.

The Sunshine adjusted its itinerary after a crew member was injured and had to be evacuated. No other details were released.

The Sunshine left Union Pier Terminal for the five-day sailing on Saturday.

A Little investment

Private-equity investors have set their eyes on a kid-oriented Mount Pleasant business that promotes physical activity, cognitive skills and social techniques in the 4-month to 12-year-old demographic.

The Little Gym location in Belle Hall Shopping Center on Long Point Road is among seven of the chain’s existing locations in the Carolinas and Tennessee to be acquired by two so-called institutional buyers.

The franchise deal was announced Aug. 17. Financial terms were not disclosed. The six other locations are in Cary, Greensboro, North Raleigh, Fayetteville and Wilmington in North Carolina and Farragut, Tenn.

The buyout was led by Hidden River Strategic Capital, a private equity firm from Philadelphia that is deploying proceeds from its first investment fund, and Chicago-based Taurus Capital Partners. Their plan is expand the business “through acquiring and building new gyms over the next several years,” according to a written statement.

The Mount Pleasant location has been open since at least 2006. It had been owned by a family of franchisees from out of state who also owned some of the other recently sold sites.

The Little Gym was started in Bellevue, Wash. in 1976 and is now part of Unleashed Brands of Bedford, Texas. According to its website, the company’s four other South Carolina child-development centers are in West Ashley, Summerville, Florence and Greenville.

Cool offering

A Charleston-area business that infuses liquor with ice cream has partnered with an alcoholic beverage producer to make a limited-edition offering.

Hardscoop is offering its Orange Cream Pop together with Vizzy Hard Seltzer to add a new twists to a classic summer treat for the 21-and-over crowd.

The unique frozen dessert features a dairy-based, Vizzy-infused formula, which Hardscoop is launching exclusively with Vizzy, a product of Chicago-based beer giant Molson Coors.

“This collaboration fully encompasses what Vizzy Hard Seltzer is all about,” said Joy Ghosh, a Molson Coors vice president. “It combines the nostalgia of a classic orange creamsicle with the bold flavors of Vizzy’s Orange Cream Pop Hard Seltzer.”

The offering, said Hardscoop’s Jason Kirby, uses the company’s first-of-its-kind, dairy-based alcohol formula for the Vizzy product.

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Starting next week, many Americans will face new requirements to stay eligible for federal food assistance.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Starting next week, many Americans will face new requirements to stay eligible for federal food assistance.

Right now, certain Americans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are required to work or volunteer 20 hours a week to stay eligible.

In the coming weeks, more people will be under that requirement.

“DSS, again, did not make this decision. We just implement what is required by the federal government, and President Biden signed this as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, so that’s where these changes came into place,” said Connelly-Anne Ragley, director of communications and external affairs for the Department of Social Services, which oversees SNAP in South Carolina.

This requirement currently applies to SNAP recipients determined to be Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents ages 18 to 49.

On Sept. 1, that age range bumps up to 18 to 50, and then on Oct. 1, it expands again to 18 to 52.

“If they have received SNAP benefits and they now meet this criteria, we will begin screening to make sure that they are working or doing volunteer work that is required,” Ragley said.

There are exceptions to this work requirement, some of which are new.

These are for people who are unable work because of a physical or mental disability, those who live in a SNAP household with a minor, those who are pregnant, those who are veterans, those who are homeless, and people formerly in foster care, up to age 24.

Sue Berkowitz, director of South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, said if SNAP recipients get a notice they will soon be under the work requirements, they should be aware of the exemptions and see if any apply to them.

“We want people to understand that so they can tell their DSS worker and, despite all the other obstacles in their way of being able to work, they’re at least not being forced to go hungry,” Berkowitz said.

Lawmakers put a temporary law in the current state budget, called a proviso, that prohibits the state, through DSS, from seeking and applying for any additional waivers relating to the SNAP work requirement, something that other states might do.

“It really does need to be reexamined,” Berkowitz said. “We don’t have to file for exemptions, but if they’re needed, why are we taking that away from the agency?”

SNAP recipients who fall in the work requirement age range and do not have an exemption and fail to meet that work requirement can only receive benefits for three months.

Then they lose their benefits for the next 36 months, unless they start and continue to meet that work requirement.

Ragley said DSS works with other groups to connect SNAP recipients with work opportunities, assisting more than 700 people in attaining employment since the start of this year.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SC's American Red Cross chapter plans to send 11 volunteers to help with recovery for people in the wake of Tropical Storm Hillary and wildfires in Hawaii.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - South Carolina’s American Red Cross chapter plans to send 11 volunteers to help with recovery for people in the wake of Tropical Storm Hilary and wildfires in Hawaii.

“We have got such an amazing, willing group of volunteers here from South Carolina,” American Red Cross Regional Communications Manager Saskia Lindsay-Smith said. “They will drop everything they are doing and deploy that day.”

Thousands have already been affected by Tropical Storm Hilary. Some have been forced out of their homes while others sit without power or necessary supplies.

Teams are working to open emergency shelters, conduct evacuations and searches, and treat those in the area.

“As you can imagine, people have gone through the worst experiences in their life,” Lindsay-Smith said. “So even having somebody there to provide them comfort is such an important thing.”

The American Red Cross says they do not have an estimate yet for how much disaster relief should be expected or how it will be done.

The region has also sent a handful of volunteers to help those impacted by wildfires in Maui.

“There has been so much devastation,” Regional Communications Director and Disaster Volunteer Mandy McMahon said. “It is heartbreaking to see the scarred landscape. In some areas, the homes are diminished to just dust.”

The death toll recently hit 114 and thousands still stand unaccounted for.

“Many people have not yet located their loved ones, and we still know there may be several who cannot be recovered,” McMahon said. “It has been a very emotional disaster response, with a mass fatality.”

Since disaster relief efforts started, state chapter representatives say they have seen an outpouring of support. But they still need more help.

Teams are asking for donations of any kind.

“In the summer months, we do typically see a decline in donations, and that has been very true this summer,” Lindsay-Smith said.

While they haven’t experienced an official shortage since January of 2021, Lindsay-Smith says they fight the possibility of one starting every day.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing disasters happening more frequently, and a lot of that is due to the climate crisis,” Lindsay-Smith said. “We are having to respond to a much higher volume of disasters, and a lot of them are a lot worse than they were a hundred years ago.”

If you are interested in helping, the American Red Cross encourages you to put your heart out there, no matter how big or small the gesture.

“The American Red Cross is an organization that wants you to put compassion into action,” McMahon said. “If you have a heart to give back, we ask that you step forward.”

For more information on how you can help disaster relief efforts, click here.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

College of Charleston “In The News” is a weekly roundup of news articles featuring College faculty, staff, students or alumni. Recent media coverage of the College includes:

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College of Charleston to debut AI Chatbot for student services

Chris Korey, associate provost for student success, talks to WCSC-TV about Clyde the Chatbot.

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Back to school with ease

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New AI chatbot will help College of Charleston students connect with support services

WCBD-TV reports on Clyde the Chatbot.

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Charleston Regional Business Journal previews several upcoming Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art programs.