During the years before and after the American Revolution, craftsmanship offered Black Americans more than a way to earn a living. It provided a measure of independence and, in some cases, the means to buy freedom. This exhibition in Charleston brings together more than 30 objects made by free and enslaved Black craftspeople, works of expertise and imagination that include furniture, metalwork, ceramics, textiles, and personal accessories, dating from the 18th century to the present. Among them is a stoneware jar made by David Drake on April 25, 1861, just two weeks after Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter, two miles from the museum. —Elena Clavarino