Every year we celebrate Black History Month.

   But do we really know the significance blacks had here in the Lowcountry?

   Mike Allen, who has been with the National Parks Service since 1980 feels people are much more educated then they once were, but in his words,  " we still have miles to go."

   Allen is education director for the National Park.

   Once sold, many slaves would toil in the fields, initially planting and harvesting indigo and rice. (www.sc-heritagecorridor.org)

   "Agriculture is central to the East Copper settlement," Allen said. "At one time, Indigo may have grown here. Rice was grown here. When you think about the settlement agriculture is front and center in the success of the settlement."

   According to www.sc-heritagecorridor.org, rice was the crop that produced enormous wealth in the Lowcountry for 200 years. It was the enslaved West Africans who cleared the swamps and built the dikes, canals, and water control devices needed for rice cultivation. They planted, tended, and harvested the crop as well as constructed and manned the boats that transported it to market.

   African labor would be responsible for the economic gain that was made from rice in colonial and antebellum society.

   "The arrival of Africans became the engine for success of agriculture," Allen said. "African knowledge was skilled and tested in rice. It was not by accident Africans were brought here in the slave trade. Some Europeans knew Africans possessed rice growing skills."

   From 1680 to the mid 1700's rice was grown in the Lowcountry, utilizing the inland swamps, which were part of the natural landscape. As the cultivation and rice intensified, the slave birthrate declined. With the natural population decreasing, rice planters began importing more Africans to the Lowcountry. (historiclandscape.org).

   The African population grew to 4,100 by 1710, when South Carolina became the first mainland colony with a black majority. By 1730, enslaved Africans outnumbered free colonists in the Lowcountry two to one. (historiclandscape.org).

   Indigo was developed by rice planters during the 1750's and was a great compliment to rice — growing on land not suited to rice cultivation. From just over 63,000 pounds in 1750, South Carolina indigo exports grew to over 500,000 pounds by 1760, making the Lowcountry the wealthiest colony on the Atlantic seaboard.

   "Africans came here to grow crop and  propelled South Carolina in the 18th century to the richest colony in the world," Allen said.

   Black history education has grown dramatically over the years.

   "Documentaries have opened the door to different pieces of history over the years,"Allen said. "More books are available to the public, but the biggest increase I have seen has been in people's interest. People want to learn about their background."

   Allen talked about when he first started at the National Park Service.

   "We didn't really say how rice, corn, etc. was grown and you can't begin to have these conversations without this. It's ultimately explaining the American story. It's our duty in the 21st century to talk about how we became America. Just looking at a grain of rice can give you the story of a nation."

Factual evidence listed in this story was obtained by the following Web sites:

historiclandscape.org

www.sc-heritagecorridor.org