Dr. Charles Smith African-American Heritage Museum.

The Slave Boy and Dr. Smith

In 2005 Dr. Charles Smith stopped to buy gas in Hammond, Louisiana, and saw a historical marker at the grave of the town's founder and his "favorite slave boy." No one in town seemed to care about the anonymous slave, so Dr. Charles moved to Hammond and created the African-American Heritage Museum, an enclave of his hand-made folk art that fills his house and spills out into the surrounding yards.

"This is the slave boy; I'm preparing him now," said Dr. Charles as he pulled a tarp off a sculpture he'd recently made from brick mortar and a dead tree. "Was he a 'boy' as a man, or a boy as a boy? I checked everywhere and nobody knows nothing about it," Dr. Smith said, so he compromised and made the slave as an older adolescent.

Although Dr. Charles' artwork conveys serious messages, he's an engaging and friendly guy and he tries to spend time with everyone who visits. "You stopping here today is God's work," he told us. "God is saying, 'I'm gonna send someone to you from Roadside America, and you gonna make time for it, 'cause that's what you do!'"

Also see: African-American Heritage Museum

Dr. Charles Smith African-American Heritage Museum

Dr. Charles Smith African-American Heritage Museum and Black Veterans Archive

Address:: S. Walnut St., Hammond, LA
Directions:: I-12 exit 40. Drive north on US Hwy 51 BUS/Railroad Ave. for one mile. Turn right at the stoplight onto Old Covington Hwy. Drive a half-mile. Turn left onto S. Chestnut St. Drive two blocks. Turn right onto E. Louisiana Ave. Drive one block. You'll see the sculpture yard on the left, at the corner of S. Walnut St.
Phone:: 504-931-5744
Admission:: Free
RA Rates:: Worth a Detour

More on Dr. Charles Smith African-American Heritage Museum

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