New Insights into the Hidden Town Project
Channel: WFU Humanities Institute
Date: 09/10/2020

This WALK AND LEARN! Virtual Tour and Discussion took place on Friday, September 25, 2020 as part of the conference "Becoming American: Moravians and Their Neighbors, 1772-1822," hosted by Wake Forest University. 

“New Insights into the Hidden Town Project”
Martha Hartley, Hidden Town Project/Old Salem Museum & Gardens
Description:
Old Salem, Inc. was at the forefront of presenting African American history with the retrieval of the St. Philips complex — including major archival, archaeological, and architectural investigation — and its opening to the public in 2003. A new initiative seeks to further that work through additional research and more broadly revealing the history of enslaved and free Africans and African Americans in Salem. “Hidden Town” describes the absence of people of African descent in the landscape and memory of what is called Old Salem today. Jim Crow laws segregated neighborhoods, and museum activity since 1950 and the relocation of the St. Philips congregation in 1952 further erased that presence. The Hidden Town Project goals include researching the enslaved, archaeological examination, integrating stories into the visitor experience, presenting public events, and connecting with descendants. This program will share a historical overview and a visit to places of meaning in the Hidden Town story.