International African American Museum

The International African American Museum (IAAM) is located on the waterfront site that was the port of arrival for nearly half of all enslaved Africans brought to North America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The museum is dedicated to telling their stories and celebrating the contributions of their descendants.



The museum’s exhibition themes include connections across the African diaspora, the spread of African American culture and influence, and the movements for justice and equality. The narrative flow of the installations was planned around the architecture, with an introductory corridor and orientation theater leading to multimedia displays of South Carolina and Gullah Geechee culture, African roots, and the Atlantic world. Exhibits, such as the American Journeys gallery, offer artifacts and works of art juxtaposed with engaging media presentations related to the legacies of slavery and current movements for racial equality. Embedded with powerful stories of tragedy, cultural and personal resilience, and community, the exhibits at the International African American Museum bring history to life while encouraging contemporary connections and conversations. Empowering visitors to explore lineage and heritage, the Center for Family History provides a resource for the study and advancement of African American genealogy, offering a unique collection of primary sources. The entire museum experience seeks to bring a world view to the African and African American story while emphasizing the importance of South Carolina and its history and fostering personal connections to exhibit content. To develop the interpretive scope of IAAM, RAA worked with the museum’s leaders to coordinate collaborative workshops and community forums to better understand sensitivities around the historic topics. RAA also collaborated with the curatorial team to coordinate a network of scholarly and community advisors to review galleries for inclusivity and audience sensitivities. The New York Times wrote: “If such a museum expands the parameters of history, and this one does, that’s a lot. Which, I guess, is why I ended up on a visit awarding it my sincerest accolade: At closing time I didn’t want to leave.”