Bricks & Foundations

I love bricks - brick pathways, brick walls, crumbling bricks, and painted bricks. I love bricks and wrought iron, bricks and resurrection fern, bricks and moss, and pierced brick walls. I used to love to walk on top of brick walls and wander on brick paths. Bricks are an integral part of Charleston’s beauty. Recently, they have taken on more meaning as I’ve learned who actually made these bricks that built Charleston. This interesting article from Charleston Magazine explains that our geography, with its red clay and proximity to sand and water, readily lent itself to brick building. Also, after suffering a few fires, a law was passed requiring buildings to be built of stone or brick. I’m not surprised to learn that enslaved people produced the brick, but thanks to this information from the Charleston Museum’s website, I learned that brick production could provide up to a third of a plantation’s income. This article from the The Post and Courier tells about spots that you can go to see brick that have fingerprints of enslaved children. I can’t change the past, but I believe acknowledging it is important, and this informs my work.