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The power of resilience can be felt throughout the new International African-American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina.

The $120 million project, which opened its doors this summer, is no ordinary tourist attraction. The museum is built on scarred and sacred ground: Gadsden's Wharf, the arrival point for nearly half of all enslaved Africans shipped to the U.S.

"We were able to find this outline of what had been a building. And we believe it was one of the main storehouses," said Malika Pryor, the museum's chief learning and engagement officer. "We do know that captured Africans, once they were brought into the wharf, were often in many cases held in these storehouses awaiting their price to increase."

Pryor guided CBS News through nine galleries that track America's original sin: the history of the Middle Passage, when more than 12 million enslaved people were shipped from Africa as human cargo. The exhibits recount their anguish and despair.

"I think sometimes we need to be shocked," she said.

Exhibits at the museum also pay homage to something else: faith that freedom would one day be theirs.

"I expect different people to feel different things," said Tonya Matthews, CEO and president of the museum. "You're going to walk in this space and you're going to engage, and what it means to you is going to be transformational."

By design, it is not a museum about slavery, but instead a monument to freedom.

"This is a site of trauma," Matthews said. "But look who's standing here now. That's what makes it a site of joy, and triumph."

Rep. James Clyburn, South Carolina's veteran congressman, championed the project for more than 20 years. He said he sees it as a legacy project.

"This entire thing tells me a whole lot about how complicated my past has been," he said. "It has the chance of being the most consequential thing that I've ever done."

Mark Strassmann

Mark Strassmann has been a CBS News correspondent since January 2001 and is based in the Atlanta bureau.

CHARLESTON, SC (WCIV — A group is trying to inspire women and veterans to break into the business world.

Lt. Governor Pamela Evette and others shared some words of wisdom at The Citadel Wednesday at the 2023 Women's Entrepreneurship Summit. In the end, they hope to help people chase their dreams while growing the local economy at the same time.

From that, 12-year-old Michelle Haas wants to turn her big dreams into reality.

Women's Entrepreneurship Summit aims to inspire women veterans in business (WCIV)

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"I’d see a bunch of these business owners on Tik Tok and Youtube, all that type of stuff, and they’d be owning big makeup brands as an example," Haas said.

It's why her dad took her to the summit, which focused on helping women in the military and spouses of veterans.

"I wanted to put her around successful business owners so that she could get the tools she needs to be successful as a home renovator," said Edward Haas, Michelle's dad.

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Lt. Governor Evette said the Palmetto State needs more women in business.

"We want to encourage anybody who has the drive and determination to start a business and fill gaps in our economy maybe where we need somebody to get something done," Evette said. "We want to make sure they know where all the resources are, whether it be state or federal to get those businesses off the ground. "

With more than 400-thousand veterans in the state, the Veteran Business Outreach Center (VBOC) says it needs to tap into this demographic more with summits like this.

"A lot of times women veterans and spouses of veterans, that population is underserved many times, so we’re targeting that today to give them an opportunity to grow their business or start a brand new business," said CJ Williams, the director of the VBOC.

Read more: Charleston County Sheriff's Office and local agencies honor fallen deputy's son with birthday parade.

Allen Thomas with the US Small Business Administration added: "All these resources are right here that can show you how to get money, show you how to get trained, and how to take your idea from concept to a successful business."

For Michelle and her dad, today was a day full of inspiration.

For more information or resources to help start a business, click here.

After a promising start early in the year, existing home sales have fallen steadily in recent months to the lowest level in years. On the surface it appears that the housing sector is experiencing serious difficulty. While higher mortgage rates have taken a toll, the bigger problem is a serious shortage of available housing.

There is a near-record low level of homes available for realtors to sell. As a result, home prices are once again climbing and home buyers are looking at new homes which are in more abundant supply. The heightened demand for new homes has boosted builder confidence and they are trying to rapidly boost the pace of construction but are running into difficulties of their own.

In addition to the shortage of single-family homes and condos for sale, there is also a shortage of properties for rent. The bottom line is that we need more housing and builders are unable to keep pace with the demand. That implies higher home prices, higher rent and higher inflation. The Fed’s path to a 2.0% inflation rate is littered with potholes.

Existing home sales fell 3.3% in June to 4,160,000 which is roughly the same as the low points reached during both the 2020 recession and the so-called “Great Recession” of 2008-2009. On the surface one might reasonably conclude that the demand for housing has plummeted. But be careful, that might not be the right conclusion.

While existing home sales have plunged during the past year, the primary reason is a shortage of homes available for sale. In fact, there are currently 1,080,000 homes available for sale. That is a near-record low level. The reason for the shortage is that current owners are unwilling to sell. They likely have a 3.0-3.5% mortgage rate and would have to trade that for a near-7.0% mortgage rate on their next property. Not an enticing situation.

To put this same inventory situation in slightly different terms, there is currently a 3.1-month supply of homes available to sell. Compare today’s situation to the 2008-2009 period when there was a 10-12 month supply of available homes. Everybody was anxious to sell and the abundant supply caused home prices to plunge 15-20%. That is not the situation today.

Home sales peaked a year ago at $413,800. As the Fed steadily pushed interest rates higher the housing market softened and prices began to fall. After falling for seven straight months, prices have now risen for five consecutive months and at $410,200 are within an eyelash of last year’s record high level. One-third of the homes sold in June were at prices above asking. Bidding wars have once again become common.

The average home sold in June was on the market for just 18 days. In fact, 76% of the homes sold in June were on the market for less than a month. Compare that to the 3-4 month period that was required to sell a home a decade or so ago. It would be a serious mistake to view the current housing market as weak.

That does not mean that the market has not softened. Housing affordability has dropped sharply from a few years ago. Clearly, it has become more difficult for many buyers — particularly first time purchasers — to afford a house today than it was a few years ago. But still, the figures cited above indicate clearly that even with reduced affordability the demand for housing remains solid.

As the population grows and people graduate from school and start jobs, they need a place to live. For those interested in purchasing a home, there are few existing homes available that might suit their needs. For this reason, many are now looking for an affordable new home. With a 6.7 month supply, those potential purchasers are having more success.

As the demand for new homes increases builders are becoming increasingly more optimistic. Homebuilder confidence has risen for seven straight months but builders are grappling with a shortage of workers, supply-side challenges like an ongoing scarcity of electrical transformer equipment, and increasing difficulty in finding available lots on which to build. As a result, builders are having difficulty stepping up the pace of construction quickly enough to satisfy demand.

Other people seeking a place to live might look for a place to rent but they, too, are facing challenges. At 6.4% the vacancy rate for rental properties is the lowest it has been since the early 1980’s. Against this background rents have risen almost 9% in the past year – the fastest on record for a series that stretches back to 2002. This matters because rents represent one-third of the entire CPI index.

The bottom line is that whether you desire to purchase a home or rent, housing is in short supply. Builders seem unable to keep pace given the constraints on their ability to hire workers and lingering supply-side shortages. That seems to suggest a situation where both home prices and rents will continue to climb. If builders cannot quickly boost production, then the Fed will have to reduce demand via rate hikes which may well exceed the additional 0.5% that the market expects at the moment.

From 1980 until 2003, when he retired, Stephen Slifer served as chief U.S. economist for Lehman Brothers in New York City, directing the firm’s U.S. economics group along with being responsible for forecasts and analysis of the U.S. economy. He has written two books on using economic indicators to forecast financial moves and previously served as a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. Slifer can be reached at www.numbernomics.com.

Much has been written about the proposed redevelopment of the old Piggly Wiggly site. With a city election right around the corner in which the residents of West Ashley will provide more than 40% of the vote, the urgency to do something — anything — to fulfill long-neglected promises to revitalize this critical part of the city has jumped into warp speed.

For almost seven years, the people of West Ashley have been promised a new gateway to their community. Today, the lack of leadership from the current administration has left residents with a hefty bill from a developer, a sharply divided City Council and a derelict lot with no clear path forward.

It doesn’t have to be this way: An iconic entrance to West Ashley can be done, but it requires creativity, pragmatism and experience. Mayor John Tecklenburg claims there is no other way to meet residents’ high expectations for this project than the options already presented. That lack of proactive and creative thinking is why I am running for mayor. There are better options for West Ashley.

This spring, I proposed a bold solution combining the expensive 3.3-acre city-owned Sumar Street parcel with the controversial high-density apartment project that’s being presented on the 30-plus acre Ashley Landing site to the south. With leadership, vision and a transparent agreement defining where and how future tax revenues could be allocated, a win-win scenario can be achieved that would be less expensive and far more impactful to the residents.

If the option to positively redevelop 35 acres versus 3.3 acres was presented, wouldn’t you want to consider it? It may take longer, but given the current boondoggle we are in, I doubt it. Plus, the city controls the process. A true iconic entrance to the oldest and most neglected part of the city can be done in a more fiscally responsible way — think Avondale coupled with Charles Towne Landing mixed with Windermere and even a touch of the Coburg Cow. It would be a positive and fully viable solution to what has become an increasingly toxic situation.

This is a world I know. I have spent the past 25 years redeveloping sites like this (Cigar Factory, GARCo Mill), and I have successfully completed several complicated projects that include workforce housing, green space, creative stormwater solutions and government offices. The scenario I am proposing would only require the city to provide money once the overall development is completed based on a mutually agreed-upon design with ample public input. This is important because digging into what few financial details there are of the mayor’s plan, it looks like the city may be required to commit at least half, if not all, of the proposed $45 million prior to completion, which is a massive risk to taxpayers.

I can also say with confidence and from a professional point of view that the mayor’s project, which is 60% publicly funded, will not inspire new investment in West Ashley. Quite the opposite, especially with today’s economic headwinds. What it will do is produce a lot more developers coming to the city with their hands out.

Finally, it is not clear that the city actually has the revenue in hand to fund the mayor’s plan without more private projects like the large apartment building at Ashley Landing being built (which is, at best, three years away and has a 1,100-signature petition opposing it).

We are told some portion is coming from parking fees and the balance from a tax increment financing district that has seen little to no activity. What are the details? What are the terms? It matters because when heavily subsidized projects like this fail, the burden will be on the city to pick up the pieces. Transparency is vital to building public trust, and it is clear from the past several City Council meetings that both are at historic lows.

Just because something has been worked on for years doesn’t always mean it is the right or responsible thing to do. Timing is everything, and when an opportunity like responsibly redeveloping the entire site presents itself, the city needs to lead from the front, have vision and — with public input — give it a serious look. The current deal is not going away. The city owns the site, but the frantic attempt to make good on a long-overdue political promise a few months before an election is not putting our residents first and has resulted in the mess we are in today. I stand firm in my belief that the residents of West Ashley deserve more, both on Sumar Street and in the mayor’s office.

William Cogswell, a developer and former S.C. House member, is a candidate for mayor of Charleston.

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One of the biggest grocery chains in the region plans to expand further by opening a store in a future Berkeley County shopping center, following the lead of several smaller tenants.

Publix has signed a lease for a 48,000-square-foot supermarket at the southwest corner of U.S. Highway 17A and U.S. Highway 176 in the Market at Carnes Crossroads in Goose Creek, a spokesman for the company said Aug. 3.

The store is expected to open in 2025 next to Carnes Crossroads, a 2,300-acre mixed-use housing development that could accommodate about 11,000 residents. Several hundred homes and apartment units are on the ground now.

For Publix, it will be its 17th location in the Charleston area.

The Market at Carnes Crossroads is being built by an Atlanta-based partnership between landowner Columbia Properties Inc. and Worthen Development.

Seven other businesses ranging from a bagel shop to a pet-supply store to a dental practice have already signed leases for space in the retail center, according to Will Sherrod with NAI Charleston. He said the firm is working with several other prospective tenants.

Publix had long been speculated as the likely anchor tenant for a proposed 90,000-square-foot retail center near Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital.

Goose Creek Mayor Greg Habib has been trying to lure a grocery store to serve the Carnes Crossroads vicinity for several years. Rob Wiggins, the city’s economic development director, called the commitment by Publix “a game changer” for the area.

“It means the residents around there will have a local supermarket, and they won’t have to leave the area and create more traffic on the roads to get their necessities,” Wiggins said.

Other grocery stores in that fast-growing part of the county include a Food Lion to the south on Highway 17A near Interstate 26, a Walmart Supercenter to the east on St. James Avenue and a Publix to the west at the Cane Bay development on Highway 176.

Also, Lowes Foods recently finalized a deal to build a 51,000-square-foot supermarket in Nexton, across from the Publix in Cane Bay. It’s expected to open in 2025.

Both Publix and Harris Teeter are planning new stores on the southwestern side of Nexton near Summerville and Interstate 26.

KIAWAH ISLAND — Work on a $215 million senior living development between Kiawah and Seabrook islands with units averaging close to $2 million each will begin in September now that the big-ticket project has secured financing.

Seafields, a luxury 90-unit independent living facility with 16 assisted-living units for residents who are at least 62 years old, is scheduled to be completed in late 2025 next to Freshfields Village Shopping Center.

The nine-figure project, originally set to cost $180 million when it was announced in 2021, is a joint venture between the nonprofit Kiawah Life Plan Village and an affiliate of Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Big Rock Partners Senior Housing.

Kiawah Life Plan recently secured bond financing for the project through Chicago-based investment bank Ziegler. The debt was issued through the South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority to pay for constructing and equipping Seafields and to refinance about $25 million in previously issued bonds connected to the project.

Kiawah Life Plan Village bought the 8-acre site in 2021 for $8.4 million, according to Charleston County land records.

The one- to three-bedroom independent living residences range from 903 square feet to 2,891 square feet. Seafields residents have the option to purchase contracts with return of equity options ranging from zero to 90 percent. Entry fees for units range from $435,000 to just under $3 million at the pre-construction rate, which expires Sept. 1.

All but 20 of the independent living units have been reserved.

It’s the first large-scale development of its kind for that affluent area of the Locountry. Todd Lillibridge, chairman of Kiawah Life Plan Village, said senior housing “is becoming an increasing priority as demographic shifts bring additional 65-plus residents” to the sea islands.

Chris Randolph of South Street Partners, master developer of Kiawah Island, said the project “will provide luxury living and world-class health care to residents.”

Nearby, the Medical University of South Carolina plans to open its Sea Islands Medical Pavilion in 2025 and offer primary, specialty and emergency care. South Street Partners donated 6 acres to MUSC for the clinic about two years ago.