I Was Here

Based on archival records, the enslavement of Africans touched almost every corner of the United States. Synthesizing a wealth of humanities and historical scholarship, the I Was Here project seeks to reconfigure, ignite, and activate a shared citizenship. I Was Here believes that the spirit of the past can be redeemed and our future, as humanity, more richly nurtured.

Through I Was Here’s partnership with the Architects Foundation, we are launching our new initiative, Parallel Histories Hidden in Plain Sight. We are planning research, outreach, and events to commemorate the lives of the enslaved people who built and worked at The Octagon. Through this work, we will reveal the role enslaved craftspeople played in creating the architectural canon nationally.

Additional resources
Tour the Octagon >
Learn more about I Was Here >
Watch the I Was Here presentation for the 2021 CODAworx exhibit >