“places possess a marked capacity for triggering acts of self-reflection, inspiring thoughts about who one presently is, or memories of who one used to be, or musings on who one might become.” ~ Keith Basso

The field trip to the Penn Center was fun, informative, and enlightening. St. Helena Island and the Penn Center offer visitors a beautiful scenery that is made increasingly rich by its history. It serves as a reminder of the injustices of slavery and has aided African Americans on their journey from the shackles of slavery to becoming free citizens. The organization and those associated with it have done a stellar job of preserving the location’s extensive history.

The essays on landscape helped illuminate the importance of place in forming our own understanding of the world around us. They shed light on the process of collective memory and related the transportive qualities of landscape and the wide range of cultural, historical, and social implications that can be derived from certain locations. While I was taking photographs, I wanted to break away from the rest of the class to allow my senses to engage with my surroundings. I tried to imagine the events that have taken place on the Penn Center campus throughout its history. I was immediately forced to consider what had occurred on the ground beneath my feet and pictured the experiences of African Americans as they made the transition from enslavement to freedom. While I sought to photograph several of the original buildings, I also wanted to capture the less-manicured areas that visibly reflected the Penn Center’s unique past. The weathering effects of time were visible both in the withered flowers left by two headstones and in the graffiti that was sprawled on a cement wall stationed near an outdoor basketball court. Like the history of the African American people, the Penn Center has endured the test of time and persisted even in the face of adversity.