All-Aid International, Inc., (AAII) is a private nonprofit 501 (C)(3) tax exempt humanitarian organization. It is the parent company of the Heritage Towers Enterprise Complex, which is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.A. Its mission is to serve the community by sponsoring educational endeavors to open avenues to international understanding; community events to celebrate cultural diversity; and programs promoting economic empowerment to enhance the quality of life in global communities.

AAII was founded on the principle of providing avenues for participation socially, politically and economically to bring about opportunities worldwide. The organization seeks to involve all men and women of goodwill in providing support for this cause; enriching lives and serving as a vehicle to uplift the rich heritage of African people as we seek to educate the world at large. AAII’s three areas of concentration are education, health and economic development.

One of the major achievements of the AAII was promotion and sponsorship of the exhibit ” A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie” from March to June of 2000. This is a traveling exhibition that traces the history of the Henrietta Marie, a slave ship which wrecked off the coast of Key West Florida in the year 1700. The critically acclaimed exhibition uses the vessel’s artifacts as a focal point to examine the transatlantic slave trade, the conditions that spawned it and its impact on society. Discovered in 1972, the Henrietta Marie is considered the world’s most important source of information from the early transatlantic slave trade. The exhibit drew over 90,000 visitors.

Guided by the enthusiastic reception of the Henrietta Marie exhibit, All-Aid International established and inaugurated Heritage Towers in June of 2005. Heritage Towers is a permanent exhibition facility located in downtown Charleston, West Virginia. The exhibit space currently houses displays of rural African life, a recreation of a slave auction block, remnants of the “Jim Crow” era in post reconstruction America, historical facts and artifacts about African American coal miners in West Virginia, and a timeline of the civil rights movement from the 1950’s through the 1990’s.

All-Aid International intends to expand current exhibits and secure other exhibits in the future. Check our website regularly for updates and announcements of special events.