A culinary tour of the city’s African American legends.
We walked everywhere when I visited.
Sometimes I’d linger and watch their nimble brown fingers weave the blades into what would become magnificent vessels.
Rev. DeMett E. Jenkins and Elijah Heyward III of the IAAM.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
I still haven’t forgiven her.
Atlanta has been my home for 16 years, a symbol of African American progress and achievement.
From Gadsden Street near the Ashley River to Gadsden’s Wharf along the Cooper River, that spirit abides.
Diners lineup to enjoy the food at Bertha’s Kitchen.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
“The African signature is endemic in this place.”
Charleston is one of the nation’s top tourist destinations.
This is the fourth consecutive year thatSouthern Livingreaders havevoted it South’s Best City.
Bertha’s ribs, collards, green beans, and cornbread.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
Most of them were not free.
But corner to corner, alley to alley, here are the testaments.
On a recent visit, I opened my eyes to their legacyan American legacyin ways I hadn’t before.
Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
I arrive late Friday morning, and I am getting hungry.
Gizzards bob beside them.
The only green on my plate is pale and stewed until rendered sweet: cabbage.
Bucket of blue crabs at Charlie Brown Seafood in Charleston.
I spoon the gravy over my peas and rice.
Bertha’s isn’t far from Ashley Phosphate Road, a reference to that industry.
The restaurant, with its radiant aqua exterior and welcoming interior, serves a few tourists.
Charlie Brown’s steamed crabs.
A lady in a silk sleep bonnet orders pork chops.
I’m grateful for the exerciseeven more grateful for what I learn.
On my tour, Garbarini focuses on the foundation of the city: its bricks.
Martha Lou Gadsden of Martha Lou’s Kitchen.
Brick plantations lined the banks of the Cooper River before the Civil War.
Enslaved Africans made them, including the ones used to construct Fort Sumter.
“Those are the fingerprints of enslaved people,” Garbarini tells me.
We find our way to theUnitarian Churchand cemetery.
Attached to it is the silhouette of a Sankofa bird, a West African symbol, rendered in iron.
During a renovation project about 10 years ago, the colonial-era bricks were uncovered, and some were saved.
Lorraine Smalls of My Three Sons of Charleston.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
The church used them to build the memorial and dedicated it in 2013.
The Sankofa symbol means, loosely, to learn from the past yet move forward.
Douglas orders a plate of gumbo, its slices of okra winking next to plump shrimp.
Safiya Grant of Hannibal’s Kitchen.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
I have a Charleston staple, lima beans studded with nuggets of ham hock.
In Florida, where I’m originally from, it’s known as Geechie or Geechee.
Here it’s called Gullah.
Sweetgrass baskets by Corey Alston.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
They created a Creole language by melding their native words and phrases with snippets of English.
A spirit of independence and resistance nurtured by distance from the heart of the mainland developed and thrived.
But Gullah and Geechee are also foodways.
Chef Kevin Mitchell and BJ Dennis are dedicated to preserving Gullah Geechee culture and food.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
Such neighborhood institutions asCharlie Brown Seafood,My Three Sons of Charleston, andMartha Lou’s Kitchenkeep it alive.
I have breakfast atHannibal’s Kitchenon Saturday.
The place is plain and rough around the edges.
Sandra McCray, owner of Dave’s Carry-Out.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
A quartet of older black men sit at a table rehashing the week.
They are clearly regulars.
I’m served sauteed shrimp and crab over grits.
I slather grape jelly on my white-bread toast.
The overall diet was seafood rich.
“You didn’t need a license to go out and catch.
Black folks made a living off the river.”
After breakfast, I join Alphonso Brown for a two-hour Gullah tour.
He is Gullah, a “been-yeah” (Charleston native), and speaks the language.
He died in 2009, at 97 years old.
His work stands in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture.
The bronze statue wasn’t there last time I visited.
“That’s as African as it’s possible for you to get.”
I am leaving the next day.
Yes, Charleston is the Holy City, but it is also a sacred one.
