There is land cradled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, it is there where time moves slower, where devotion is not bound to heaven but woven into the soil, the water, and the breath of all who dwell there. The Eastern Shore of Maryland–birthplace of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass–is sacred and finite. On that land AfroChesapeake spirituality flourishes at the intersection of Hoodoo and Black Christianity. Today, the Black settlements that coexist with coastlines, wetlands, woodlands, and grasslands that anchor these practices are disappearing. Rituals are disrupted due to the receding ability to congregate at sacred sites and spaces of memory. The land is being eroded by the twin forces of climate change and human greed through relentless overdevelopment.

The impacts of climate change on the Eastern Shore is evident. Saltwater intrusion is transforming grassland into marshland, invasive species like Phragmites are overtaking native marshland plants critical to rootworking for healing, woodlands and sites of revival are being destroyed for new commercial and residential development,  and storm surges are submerging land faster than many realize.

In the evolving discourse around climate change, the focus has predominantly been on its environmental, economic, and geopolitical impacts. However, one critical dimension often overlooked is the cultural and spiritual crisis it generates, particularly for communities whose traditions are deeply tied to land. During this project, I will examine the intersections of climate change, ecological disruption, and place-based spirituality within AfroChesapeake folk belief, focusing on the lived experiences of African Americans living on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Role: Principal Investigator

Program: THE CROSSROADS PROJECT

Black Religious Histories, Communities, and Cultures

Institution: Princeton University

This project centers on the African ancestral individuals recovered from the Chapel Point area of Charles County, a landscape shaped by early African American presence, colonial systems, and complex patterns of community formation. My work here integrates archival research, land-history reconstruction, and heritage-based analysis with bioarchaeological and archaeological data generated by project partners.

Through probate records, land patents, estate inventories, parish files, and environmental histories, I map kinship networks, property regimes, and cultural geographies that can help reestablish narrative continuity for these ancestors. Descendant engagement and the inclusion of oral histories are central to informing this research in culturally informed interpretation, ensuring that their lives are not approached as anonymous remains, as they are/were persons embedded within broad social, cultural, and environmental systems.

The goal of this work is to restore visibility, dignity, and context to ancestors whose stories were historically cloaked. By synthesizing archival, archaeological, and anthropological evidence, the project supports potential descendant identification, informs ethical recommendations for reburial, and contributes to a more equitable interpretation of African American heritage in Maryland. This research aims to document the past and support responsible heritage stewardship, centering community collaboration, historically grounded analysis, and interdisciplinary rigor to better understand the lived worlds and enduring legacies of the Chapel Point individuals.

Role: Historian

Program: African Ancestral Human Remains Project (AAHRP)

Institution(s):

Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum

Maryland Historical Trust

Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory

Maryland Commission on African American History & Culture

The Chancellor’s Point Working Group is an ancestral steward–led collaborative body affiliated with Historic St. Mary’s City Museum that supports ongoing research, stewardship, and interpretation at Chancellor’s Point. Centering the leadership and perspectives of descendant and community stewards, it brings together representatives from local and academic stakeholders, including members of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions, the St. Mary’s County NAACP, the St. Mary’s County Museum Division, and the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission.

The group also works with forensic anthropologists from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History on archaeological work. CPWG works in collaboration with museum staff, archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, and academic research partners to guide archaeological and bioarchaeological investigations. This includes providing oversight and guidance for work involving human remains, particularly those associated with early African American burial sites, to ensure ethical practice, cultural care, and respectful treatment.

Through collaboration, ethics planning and dialogue, the working group supports responsible decision-making and inclusive public interpretation that honors the people and histories connected to this landscape.

Role: Advisory Board Member

Program: Chancellor’s Point Working Group

Institution: Historic St. Mary’s City

In regional folklore, the figure of Big Lizz is framed as a haunting tied to a bridge and a swamp. What often goes unexamined is the cultural, ecological, and spiritual world that makes her presence possible. This project studies that world. Through fieldwork, ritual work, and ecological study, I trace how her presence lives in water, soil, and plant life.

Rather than resolve her legend, I use it to study how a landscape remembers and how a haunting can shape method. This approach treats Big Lizz as a guide into the deeper relationship between story, place, and the afterlives of violence on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Role: Project Lead

Program: Afro-Chesapeake Fieldwork

Institution: Non Affiliated / Independent