The Georgia Historical Society will dedicate a new historical marker this Friday, September 23, in Savannah. The Marker will commemorate the Savannah Protest Movement, a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement in Georgia.
"The Savannah Protest Movement historical marker tells the story of the struggle to end segregation in Savannah, led by African-American students and community leaders in the early 1960s," a GHS spokesperson says.
“The Civil Rights movement is a watershed event in American history and at the heart of the American story,” said Dr. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society.
“Recognizing the Savannah Protest Movement and the people and events that led to desegregation in Georgia’s First City is a testament to what the human spirit can achieve under even the most difficult of circumstances.”
The Georgia Historical Society partnered with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Hodge Foundation and Savannah College of Art and Design.
Speakers for the event will include Dr. Groce; Carolyn Quilloin Coleman, and Joan Tyson Hall, two of the first students arrested in Savannah; former Mayor Edna Jackson, Paula Wallace, President of SCAD, and former Mayor Otis Johnson. There will also be an exhibition performance by SCAD alumnus Masud Olufani.
The events will begin at 10:00 a.m. with Visionary Voices, a program inside The Trustees Theater, 216 East Broughton Street in Savannah, followed immediately by the marker unveiling across Broughton street at SCAD’s Jen Library, former site of Levy’s department store. This event is free and open to the public but seating is limited so attendees are encouraged to arrive early.
"The Savannah Protest Movement historical marker tells the story of the struggle to end segregation in Savannah, led by African-American students and community leaders in the early 1960s," a GHS spokesperson says.
“The Civil Rights movement is a watershed event in American history and at the heart of the American story,” said Dr. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society.
“Recognizing the Savannah Protest Movement and the people and events that led to desegregation in Georgia’s First City is a testament to what the human spirit can achieve under even the most difficult of circumstances.”
The Georgia Historical Society partnered with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Hodge Foundation and Savannah College of Art and Design.
Speakers for the event will include Dr. Groce; Carolyn Quilloin Coleman, and Joan Tyson Hall, two of the first students arrested in Savannah; former Mayor Edna Jackson, Paula Wallace, President of SCAD, and former Mayor Otis Johnson. There will also be an exhibition performance by SCAD alumnus Masud Olufani.
The events will begin at 10:00 a.m. with Visionary Voices, a program inside The Trustees Theater, 216 East Broughton Street in Savannah, followed immediately by the marker unveiling across Broughton street at SCAD’s Jen Library, former site of Levy’s department store. This event is free and open to the public but seating is limited so attendees are encouraged to arrive early.
