Bench By The Road Project
"A Bench by the Road"
A community outreach initiative launched on the occasion of Toni Morrison’s 75th birthday. The Society, with the support of foundations, corporations, and individuals, will place ten wrought iron benches at unmarked sites in African American history that have significance in Morrison’s novels. Each bench will include historical inscriptions detailing their significance.
1st Bench By The Road Placement
As part of the events of the Fifth Biennial Conference of the Toni Morrison Society to be held July 24-27, 2008 in Charleston, South Carolina, we would like to make our first bench placement with Toni Morrison in attendance on Sullivan’s Island, the point of entry for most Africans entering the U.S. during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The bench will be a black steel bench with a brass TMS inset. The Bench placement will also include an historical description of the site and its significance in the history of Charleston and the history of African Americans in the U.S.