South of Charleston The Journey
South of Charleston, South Carolina, the small town of Hickory Hill is tucked away in the low country along the banks of the Combahee River. This is where I grew up and where my life was molded and shaped amid my family and the close-knit community during the fifties and sixties. My life’s journey began even before my birth there. My family are descendants of slaves. The plantations that formed the backdrop for the culture of master and slave still surround Hickory Hill. Many of my relatives and friends worked on those plantations where reminders of that heritage shadowed our lives.
South of Charleston, The Journey is the story of my life in the towns of Green Pond and Hickory Hill and their impact on me, not only in childhood, but through my life’s journey. I am touched and colored by the strength and determination of the people in that town. I have tried to capture the beauty and poetry there. It was a nurturing place for a growing boy, although the obstacles of daily life challenged my family as well as others. As a young adult, I longed to leave but found that I would always carry it with me. My book is the story of my family, the town, and the lives of past generations that made me who I am.
REFLECTIONS OF A JOURNEY
Reflections Of A Journey is a continuation of Charles’s book, South of Charleston, The Journey, where he shared his life growing up in the south in a climate that was not kind to African Americans and other people of color living there. Their love for life and their community is a testament of their strength, courage, determination and faith.
