The Tides of Memory “August,” Sarah whispered the name with a weight. Not the summer breeze—but a burden of memories, of chains quietly broken at last. The auctioneer’s hammer had fallen. They owned China Grove Plantation. That was in 1870, just a few years after the war’s end—a plantation held not by the slave master, but by former slaves. WikipediaNatchez African American Museum August’s hands trembled. “We come from chains, Sarah. And yet…we own land. We own that place.” He meant more than bricks and trees. “We own our labor, our sweat, our names.” Sarah nodded, her voice steady. “We built the gin ourselves. Grew the cotton. The world tried to keep us in the sharecroppers’ shackles.” But they would not be chained again. Natchez African American MuseumMSGWEverything2 . From China Grove t...