Since 2015, historian Toby Smith has led tours that focus on educating visitors to Charlestonâs McLeod Plantation about the enslaved girls and women who once worked on the historic site. âTheirs are the stories of survival and strength. These women gave many of us the foundation for who we have become today,â she says. Within her own family, Smith is only three generations removed from slavery; her great-great-grandmother Idella was taken from Ghana at the age of three and brought into the markets in Charleston. âI came out of that family and I am grateful. Thatâs one reason why being at McLeod is so meaningful to me,â she says. Smith sees Charleston as the essence of her familyâs heritage, a city filled with reminders of her past and of how far her family has come. Below, the places around town where she goes to reflect, connect, and relax when sheâs not giving tours.