Browse Items (105 total)

17200206-62.jpg
The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum, named after Mr. Gilbert, one of the leaders of the Savannah civil rights movement, is housed in a building that was once home to the Wage Earners Savings and Loan Bank, one of the largest banks for blacks…

17200207-63.JPG
These "Whites Only" and "Blacks Only" signs on the WCs at the Civil Rights Museum serve as a reminder of where we've come from and how far we still have to go in terms of racial equality in this country.

17200208-64.jpg
Westley Wallace Law served as president of the Savannah chapter of the NAACP for 30 years and worked his entire life for civil rights. He is buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery South, the black side of the cemetery (as opposed to the north/white side).…

17200209-65.JPG
Laurel Grove is the final resting place of many slaves. 15 acres of the original white cemetery were put aside for "free peoples of color and slaves."

17200210-66.jpg
Johnnie Brown leads Savannah's Freedom Trail Tour, which is part of the legacy of Westley Wallace Law. Mr. Brown points out a whipping tree where blacks were punished by slave drivers.

17200211-67.jpg
The original balcony pews at First African Baptist church were built for and by slaves when the building was constructed in 1859. The writing on the ends of each pew are written in an African dialect known as "Cursive Hebrew."

17200212-68.jpg
The ceiling at First African is in the design of a "Nine Patch Quilt," which indicated that the church was a safe haven for slaves (it was a symbol of the Underground Railroad). The church, constituted in 1777, came from the oldest Negro congregation…

17200213-69.jpg
The Congolese Cosmogram is an African prayer symbol, which also represents birth, life, death, and rebirth. The church was a haven for runaway slaves, and some say that the holes were actually "air holes" for slaves who would hide under the basement…

17200214-70.JPG
The Beach Insitute was built in 1867, by the Freedmen's Bureau as a school for newly freed slaves. It today serves as an African American cultural center, which was founded by Westley Wallace Law. W.W. Law's likeness can be seen on the banner…

17200182-35.JPG
This portion of the Riverwalk along Charleston's Cooper River was dedicated in memory to Philip Simmons. This location marks the beginning of the area in which the new International African American Museum is sited for construction.
Output Formats

atom, dcmes-xml, json, omeka-xml, rss2