See the photos from Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database.

One thing that consistently amazes me about Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database is that no matter how much you surf through the site, no matter how much you read about the groundbreaking program, you always learn something new.

The thing that sticks out in my mind from Tuesday night’s Voyages event at the Carter Center is one of the voyages itself. For those of you unfamiliar with Voyages, please visit its website or our review of the EAA’s Voyages event in Washington, DC, in November 2009. I’ll wait.

OK.

During his 30-minute presentation, David Eltis, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of History and the founder of the database, guided the evening’s 160 guests on a journey through the site, and one of the places he stopped stuck in my mind.

Eltis pointed out Voyage No. 36990, the database’s final documented landing of a slave ship in the United States. The Clotilda docked in Mobile, AL with 110 captives onboard in 1860.

Many of the descendants of the slaves taken from that ship live in the Mobile area.

The importation of slaves became illegal in the United States in 1808, more than 50 years earlier. I’m not sure if I’m more stunned that the slave trade in North America continued so deep into the 19th century or that there was a record of the landing. I mean, if I’m going to do something illegal, I’m not going to write it down.

However, in this case, I’m glad that someone did. It puts a nice, boldface checkmark in a box that reads “Things we must never let happen again.”

Eltis made other memorable points. “What do we make of U.S. owners in the lead up to American independence who named their slave ships, ‘Liberty’? And after independence, ‘The Fourth of July’?” he said.

A fine question.

The evening’s subject matter was serious, no question, but the atmosphere was anything but gloomy. Eltis' presentation was bookended by vibrant receptions that not only included electronic tours of the website (such as the self-guided one being taken by Octavius White and Nya Karanga 03PH), but food that encouraged third and fourth visits to the table.

Other highlights included a welcome from President Jim Wagner and a reading by Kevin Young, Atticus Haygood Professor of English and Creative Writing. Young, whose dramatic presentation of two poems, “Westville” and “Con” from his latest collection, Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels, was noteworthy for its drama (which was palpable) and its subject matter (the aftermath of the famous mutiny aboard the slave ship Amistad).

Voyages, and its follow-up, African Origins, are constantly evolving, just as the conversation about slavery in the U.S. and its aftermath does as well. I’m already looking forward to Voyages’ return. I'm just wondering what I’ll learn next.

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA

My mom likes to tell me stories of how, before I was born, she and my dad would frequently host “open houses.” They’d invite all their friends over one weekend afternoon, they could come and go as they pleased, sample the food and drinks (which my parents provided), wander from room to room and conversation to conversation, listen to the music (probably blasting from our wood-paneled, sofa-sized record player/stereo), and generally hang out with the purpose of escaping life’s drudgeries in the company of friends. It’s a fun story to hear and it tells me one thing about my parents.

They were a lot more fun before I came around.

But perhaps more important than my familial transitions, and definitely more relevant to you, is that open houses are a great time. Like the Miller-Ward open house the Emory Alumni Association (EAA) hosted on Saturday, February 19.

The open house was the first major public event announcing the Miller-Ward Alumni House’s availability as a center for weddings, receptions, business meetings, and other special events for members of the Emory community.

For more information about how to reserve Miller-Ward for your event or to schedule a tour, send an email to millerwardhouse@emory.edu or call 404.727.6400.

Like my parents’ open houses of years past, our friends (all of whom received a Miller-Ward gift/information bag for attending … if you’d like one of your own, email us ... again at millerwardhouse@emory.edu) roamed throughout, embracing the friendly atmosphere with every step. Our guests were diverse, too: prospective brides (and their parents) checking out the facility and how it would sparkle in photos; alumni scouting the roominess of our rooms—state-of-the-art yet elegant—mentally determining their functionality; and even a handful of students made their first trip to the house, which, upon graduation, will be their home away from home as Emory alumni.

The Will Scruggs Jazz Fellowship jammed throughout the two-hour event (no record player in sight), and a host of vendors kept glasses and plates full with a variety of tasty, nourishing samples, all of which are available to customers. They include: Affairs to Remember Catering, Atlanta Wholesale Wine, Big Boat Wine Company, Carole Parks Catering, Classic Party Rentals, Masterpiece Events, National Distributing Company, Nicole’s Events, and Peachtree Tents.

I staffed the registration table and did my share of wandering myself. I’ve worked at Miller-Ward for more than five years and am constantly amazed at how the facility transforms itself depending on what it needs to be. The house can go from elegant (fancy tablecloths and ornate flower arrangements have rarely looked better than at Miller-Ward) to businesslike literally in hours.

Sometimes, like on Saturday afternoon, it’s both. Governor’s Hall, the focal point of all the action, was the inviting, ornate-yet-comfortable centerpiece it always is, and our upstairs meeting rooms were both professional and stylish. Even our new upstairs bridal suite is a shining star. And I must admit that, yes, I stood in front of the bridal suite’s huge mirror more than once just to see if my shirt was tucked in right (one time, it wasn’t and the necessary adjustments were made).

All in all, it was a remarkably successful afternoon.

That evening, after I got home, I called my mom to update her on my weekend and I mentioned working the Miller-Ward open house.

“You know, your dad and I used to hold open houses all the time, I’ve told you that, right?” she said. It’s not that my mom has any memory issues, please don’t think that. She just likes family stories.

“You have,” I said. “But not for a while. What were they like?”

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA