The Bench by the Road (Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina)

The Bench by the Road (Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina)

Subject (Topic)
African Americans--History
Enslaved persons
Middle Passage
Slavery--South Carolina
South Carolina--Sullivan’s Island
Transatlantic slave trade

Subject (Name)
Morrison, Toni, 1931-2019

Subject (Object)
Commemorative sculpture

The Toni Morrison Society launched the Benches by the Road project on February 18, 2006, in honor of Toni Morrison’s 75th birthday. On July 28, 2008, the Toni Morrison Society dedicated the first Bench by the Road on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, as part of their memorial history and community outreach initiative to honor the lives of enslaved Africans. The bench is made of black steel and features a sturdy frame with curved elements along the slatted backrest and seat. A small bronze plaque is mounted at the center of the backrest, displaying the site’s name, the sponsoring organization, and the installation date. Nearby, a bronze marker embedded in the pavement includes a quotation from Morrison, and a description of the project. Since 2008, the Society have installed 32 benches throughout the United States, one in Martinique, and another in France.

Toni Morrison Society

Photograph: Ron Cogswell, Flickr, CC BY 2.0

July 28, 2008

Toni Morrison Society; National Park Service

Toni Morrison Society, Inc., P.O. Box 54346, Atlanta, 30308, Georgia, United States

JPEG

English

Visual Arts-Sculpture

Fort Moultrie Visitor Center, 1214 Middle Street, Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, 29482-9717, United States

Inscription on the naming plate of first bench in South Carolina:
A BENCH BY THE ROAD
Placed by the Toni Morrison Society Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina July 26, 2008

Inscription on a plaque near the monument contextualizing the project:
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 me 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 well or park or skyscraper lobby. There’s no 300-foot tower. There’s 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 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.

The thirty-four benches are in the following locations in order of installation: Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina (July 26, 2008); Site on the Underground Railroad in Oberlin, Ohio (April 23, 2009); Mississippi Freedom School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (October 9, 2009); Paris, France (November 6, 2010); Caesar Robbins House in Concord, Massachusetts (May 21, 2011); George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (September 21, 2011); First Congregational Church in Atlanta, Georgia (May 27, 2012); Mitchellville Freedom Park in Hilton Head, South Carolina (April 16, 2016); Walden Woods in Lincoln, Massachusetts (May 22, 2013); Fort-de France, Martinique (June 26, 2013); Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania (April 24, 2014); Margaret Walker Center in Jackson, Mississippi (April 10, 2015); Middleton, Delaware (April 17, 2015); Middleton, Delaware (April 17, 2015); Nyack, New York (May 18, 2015); Hosana AUMP Church in Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (September 18, 2015); Baton Rouge, Louisiana (February 6, 2016); Woodruff Library at Atlanta University Center in Atlanta, Georgia (February 28, 2016); Cozad-Bates House in Cleveland, Ohio (April 24, 2016); Schomburg Library in Harlem, New York (July 24, 2016); Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. (April 28, 2017); Adrian, Michigan (October 20, 2017); Southview Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia (April 7, 2018); Home of Frederick Douglass in New Bedford, Massachusetts (September 16, 2018); Howard University in Washington, D.C. (April 5, 2019); Lincoln University in Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (November 14, 2019); Cartersville Train Depot in Cartersville, Georgia (October 10, 2020); Tulsa, Oklahoma (April 17, 2020); Mabel Little Heritage House in Tulsa, Oklahoma (April 17, 2020); Old 8th Ward in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (April 27, 2021); Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma (July 29, 2021); Prudence Crandall Museum in Canterbury Connecticut (September 19, 2021); A&M University in Prairie View, Texas (March 19, 2024); and, Marietta, Georgia (June 19, 2024).

72 in. (182.88 cm)

Black steel

Toni Morrison Society. “The Official Website of the Toni Morrison Society | Bench by the Road.” Accessed November 18, 2024. https://www.tonimorrisonsociety.org/bench.html.

Lee, Felicia R. “Toni Morrison’s on Sullivan’s Island: A Bench of Memory at Slavery’s Gateway.” The New York Times, July 29, 2008. Accessed November 18, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/arts/design/28benc.html?st=cse&oref=slogin&scp=2&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin.

Renée Ater

Sculpture

72 in. (182.88 cm)