President & Curator

Mr. Ragsdale is Founder, President & Master Curator of the Lest We Forget Slavery Museum. He has been collecting slavery artifacts over 50 years, as a result he has acquired a significant number of iron slave shackles, bill of sale documents, Jim Crow objects and many other related items. His interest in collecting these rare pieces began when he was just a boy. While growing up he would spend summers with his Great Uncle Bub, who lived in Rock Hill, SC. He loved the many stories his uncle told about a man he referred to as “Massa” and his life as a sharecropper; Uncle Bub lived to be 109 years old. Following his death, Mr. Ragsdale came across an old trunk containing his uncle’s belongings. One of the items he found was a pair of slave shackles. He was immediately reminded of the stories his uncle told him when he was young. It was that initial pair of shackles that sent him on a quest that has lasted a lifetime. His passion grew and so did his collection. Today, he has more than 2,500 artifacts including shackles, slavery documents and numerous Jim Crow items. He continues to travel the country and abroad searching for items to add to his incredible collection.