“Payne-ful” Business: Charleston’s Journey to Truth

“Payne-ful” Business: Charleston’s Journey to Truth is a nonfiction book written by Margaret Seidler, native and eighth generation Charlestonian.  The book documents the history of Charleston’s slave trade, the involvement of Margaret’s ancestors, the Payne family, and the modern efforts to reconcile with Charleston’s notorious history.

Follow Seidler’s mission to learn and process her family’s genealogical past. Using extensive research and personal experience, she discusses the realities of Charleston’s racial history while highlighting the historians, journalists, and community members who work to reconcile those truths. The book features authentic, historic slave advertisements brought to life with vivid paintings by accomplished African American artist John W. Jones. He uncovers the humanity hidden beneath the advertisement’s detached descriptions.

Seidler’s mission is to acknowledge a more complete truth about our past and motivate us to act on bridging today’s racial divide.