This SC museum is among 5 best cultural sites in the world, National Geographic says. Here’s why

Charleston made an exclusive National Geographic list — Best of the World for culture and history — in part because it is examining its past.

The magazine highlights the International African American Museum, which opens Jan. 21, as one of five trips to take in 2023 to experience culture and history.

“Known for its Low Country cuisine and walkable urbanism, South Carolina’s largest city addresses a grimmer aspect of its history,” the magazine said.

With nine galleries, the museum on Gadsden’s Wharf will tell stories of tragedy and triumph. Some 100,000 enslaved people were brought through the Port of Charleston from 1670 until 1808.

Featured in the museum is inhumane treatment they suffered on ships in Middle Passage and during life on plantations.

“But they also uncover stories of the triumph of the enslaved and their enduring cultural contributions, including a section devoted to the Gullah Geechee people who live along the Atlantic coast from the Carolinas to Florida and continue some of the African traditions of their ancestors,” the magazine said.

Also noted is the museum’s Center for Family History, which offers help for people exploring genealogical records, which are hard to navigate because slaves could not do many of the things that genealogical records are based on such as marry, vote or own land.

Also included on the National Geographic culture travel list are Appian Way, Italy; Busan, South Korea; Egypt; and Longmen Grottoes, Henan Province, China.

This story was originally published November 7, 2022 at 4:02 PM.