U.S. Embassy grants $500k to conserve South Africa’s slave heritage site
Today, the United States Embassy to South Africa announced a $500,000 (R7million) funding program through the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), the largest AFCP grant ever issued in South Africa. Over the next two years, support from the U.S. government will enable Iziko Museums to continue its conservation and the fieldwork on the São José slave ship and wreck site, located off the shores of Cape Town.
It will not only allow Iziko Museums to acquire essential conservation equipment but also train young South Africans to be the next generation of conservators and maritime archaeologists.
The work by South African and American researchers on the São José shipwreck is one of the first successful efforts in the world to document the archaeological vestiges of one of the thousands of vessels that sank while carrying its human cargo of enslaved Africans, across the Atlantic. The discovery of this shipwreck by researchers from Iziko Museums of South Africa is part of the Slave Wrecks Project (SWP), an initiative in partnership with the George Washington University (GWU), and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).
“The São José slave shipwreck site reverberates with historical significance and represents an addition to our underwater heritage that has the potential to advance knowledge and understanding of slavery, not only at the Cape, but on an international level.” said Rooksana Omar, CEO, Iziko.
It is in recognition of the global significance of the discovery of the São José, and the work done by Iziko Museums on the Slave Wrecks Project, the United States Embassy to South Africa has awarded this grant to ensure that the conservation, documentation and legacy of this important archeological site is preserved.
U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard says telling the full story of slavery reaffirms that we have a shared history in both the United States and South Africa and we must make a shared investment to preserve this history.
“We are proud partners with the people of South Africa and Iziko Museums to see that the story of the enslaved persons carried on the São José is adequately preserved and honored, while ensuring that new opportunities are created for the people of South Africa in the process,” said U.S. Ambassador Gaspard.
Today’s event was an opportunity to reflect on the shared history experienced in both the United States and South Africa, as well as many other countries, and to reiterate the importance of the shared investment we must make to preserve that history.
The São José narrative, while linking with sites such as the Iziko Slave Lodge, where many enslaved Mozambicans were incarcerated, simultaneously opens up opportunities for links with sites of enslavement in Mozambique and Brazil and further future collaborations on both research and exhibitions.
Mr. Themba Wakashe, Iziko Deputy Chairman of Council said:
“The story of the São José is more than an African story — one that transcends time, space, place and identity. It is a global story of our inter-connectedness as a human race. It is a story of migration and of untold human wrong. This trans-continental partnership further supports country level bilateral discussion and provides the opportunity to foster tolerance and understanding, as well as developing local capacity.”
The grant will fund:
- The R 2 million procurement of equipment for Iziko’s conservation laboratory, including a freeze dryer, a handheld XRF spectrometer, microscopes and other laboratory supplies.
- The employment of the only water-logged objects conservator in Africa who will transfer her skills to a South African assistant also employed thanks to the grant.
- A diver, skipper and assistant who will dive to the slave wreck and conduct environmental assessments and develop a framework to conserve the site.
- Training for young people from Cape Town’s underserved communities who will be taught how to dive and work on the archaeological project.
- Travel by experts from Iziko to the United States to learn and share their experience with experts there.
Artifacts from the São José are currently on loan to the Smithsonian and on display at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. U.S. President Barack Obama opened the museum on September 24, 2016.
“We do not take lightly this token of friendship and trust that the South African government has conferred upon us to showcase and safeguard these objects for a brief period, ensuring that hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world will have a chance to bear witness to the global nature of the slave trade and the shared history that has connected our people for generations,” said U.S. Ambassador Gaspard.
