Early Phase:

From the beginning, community engagement was foundational to the project. The NC African American Heritage Commission formed a stakeholder advisory board in 2018 as work commenced to research disembarkation sites and build relationships with descendant groups. In 2019, the first listening sessions—co-facilitated by Janeen Bryant of Facilitate Movement—were held in disembarkation communities along the coast, bringing together 160 stakeholders, including descendants, local historians, activists, and scholars. These sessions allowed participants to identify project priorities, share ideas for public art, and recommend educational resources.

Public Art Phase:

In 2022, NCAAHC received a planning grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR) to begin work on the proposed public art installation. Community members also shaped a call for artists, ensuring outreach to artists across the state, including those in rural and eastern areas through trusted connectors. Additional engagement sessions in 2022 enabled stakeholders to meet the selected artists and begin design concepts for the public art installation. The process emphasized transparency and input from a wide range of voices guiding each step of the project. 

Community Engagement:

In 2023, Africa to Carolina received additional funding from ZSR to deepen community engagement and advance the development of a commemorative public art installation. During this phase, artists Stephen Hayes and David Wilson collaborated with community leaders, stakeholders, and descendants to design and refine public art concepts through a series of workshops held in Navassa, Wilmington, New Bern, Plymouth, and Raleigh. These workshops offered participants a direct role in shaping the artwork's vision, design, and interpretive focus, ensuring that each piece reflected local histories and the voices of those most connected to these sites.

Alongside the art development, North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green led arts workshops centering descendant narratives and community storytelling, further enriching the creative process. Stakeholders who participated in earlier phases were invited back for final convenings to review, refine, and approve the public art renderings, fostering continuity and sustained involvement.

Educational outreach began in this phase. NCAAHC staff member Dr. Shafantae Desinord, Ph.D., worked with Carolina K-12 and INSITE Africa (African Studies Center) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and DNCR’s Learning Happens Here staff to develop and pilot K-12 curriculum. A professional development workshop, held as immersive two-day experiences, connected educators with historians, artists, and significant heritage locations, offering hands-on opportunities to integrate Africa to Carolina’s history into classrooms statewide.

The Africa to Carolina web portal was also expanded to provide project updates, resources, and documentation of the public art process. This phase sustained the initiative’s commitment to descendant engagement and honoring North Carolina’s African disembarkation sites through art and education.
 

Art Renderings

Original Renditions

Revised Renditions

Community Feedback

Surveys were conducted throughout the process to gather ongoing community feedback on updates to the public art rendering following the listening sessions and the community workshops. NCAAHC and the artist team remained committed to sharing the final rendering with participants from the September 2024 session at the October 2025 virtual art reveal.