Latest news with #FirstAfricanBaptistChurch
Forbes
19-05-2025
- General
- Forbes
A Church Built By Slaves Inspires An Artwork On View In Savannah
Nari Ward, "Breathing Bars Diagonal Left," 2020, oak wood, copper sheet, copper nails, darkening ... More patina,152 x 152 x 5cm. The First African Baptist Church in Savannah — which was founded by enslaved people and is the oldest continually open black church in North America — has many unique features. Among them, original gas lighting fixtures from when the sanctuary was completed in 1859, pews carved with ancient Semitic languages including Cursive Hebrew and Ethiopian Amharic Ge'ez, and floorboards drilled with holes that form a triangular pattern. These floorboards were of particular interest to the artist Nari Ward, who first saw them while visiting Savannah to prepare for a solo exhibition at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2015. There are theories for why the holes exist in the otherwise smooth floor. Many surmise that they represent the Kongo Cosmogram, a religious symbol that portrays the relationship between human and spiritual worlds and has been used for many centuries by the Bakongo people, who live in what is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Others say that the holes were drilled into the floor to allow escaped slaves to breathe. The church may very well have served as a hiding place in the Underground Railroad, given that March Haynes, a deacon of the church, was a known member of the network. In "Breathing Bars Diagonal Left' (2020), Ward took the shape of these holes, and made them radiant. On a crepuscular blue background covered with faintly gilded symbols of hand cuffs and prison bars, the Cosmogram explodes with beams of light, which in the artwork are represented by thin gold lines. Each hole, which embodies a place where someone might have drawn a breath, is surrounded by golden nails, which cluster like worker bees. Or the spirits of ancestors. One gets the physical sensation, looking at the artwork, that you are witnessing life itself. Oxygen inhaled; carbon dioxide exhaled. Exuberance, miracles. Hope stubbornly clinging on in a dark hiding place, and despite it all, exploding outward with exuberance. In times like these, I looked at the artwork, and started crying. An installation view of "In Reflection: Contemporary Art and Ourselves," an ongoing exhibition at ... More the Jepson Center in Savannah. The artwork is installed as part of 'In Reflection: Contemporary Art and Ourselves,' an ongoing exhibition at the Jepson Center in Savannah that showcase the museum's modest but mighty contemporary art collection, which includes works by Kara Walker, Elaine de Kooning, Chul Hyun Ahn and Rocío Rodríguez. 'One of the best parts about working in a museum is continually looking at these cutting edge artists, and what they are saying about the current moment and the times we are living in,' says Erin Dunn, the curator of modern and contemporary art at the museum, who also organized the exhibition. The Ward piece, however, is on loan from Alice Walton's Art Bridges Foundation, which aims to provide financial and strategic support to museums across the United States, in part by lending out pieces from its permanent collection upon request. Such as the Nari Ward piece lent to the Jepson Center for a year. 'Our goal is getting art out of storage and into museums,' says Ashley Holland, the curator and director of curatorial initiatives at Art Bridges Foundation. As the curator at a small museum in a city of just under 150,000 people, Dunn works with a modest budget which does not always support the acquisition of works by notable contemporary artists. She was grateful, therefore, to see one of Ward's works on Art Bridges Foundation's website. She applied for a loan, and it was granted by Holland and her team. Dunn notes that the loan came with very few stipulations, and that the foundation even paid for shipping. Art Bridges Foundation also loaned 'Black Girl on a Skateboard Going Where She's Got to Go to Do What She's Got to Do and It Might Not Have Anything to Do With You, Ever' (2022), a ceramic sculpture by Vanessa German, to the Jepson Center for the exhibition. 'We really expect all of our partner organizations to also be doing learning and engagement,' says Holland, noting that she was thrilled to lend the artworks by Ward and German to the Jepson Center. 'There were so many local connections,' says Holland. 'Both pieces were a great fit for them.' An installation shot from "In Reflections." The presence of philanthropy from billionaires was visible throughout the show, which was marked by artwork that refused to cower, including 'Black Cotton Flag Made in Georgia' (2018), a 27-foot tall draped American flag rendered entirely in black, and collapsed against a flagpole, by Paul Stephen Benjamin. There were the two pieces from Art Bridges Collection, which is funded by Walton, the richest woman in the world. And then, there was signage leading visitors to Bloomberg Connects, a digital guide to the exhibition funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. At a time when arts organizations are facing budget cuts — President Trump started eliminating grants funded by the National Endowment for the Arts in early May — these programs from wealthy philanthropists are lifelines for small museums like the Jepson Center. Dunn, for one, is honored to have the piece by Ward, even if it's not in the museum forever. Already, a few weeks after opening, school children have visited. They've seen the breathing holes, and they've felt the life emanating from them. 'I think it's so cool for them to realize that artists come here to Savannah and when they leave, take ideas with them,' Dunn says. 'It helps them understand that our small community actually has a really outsized influence on our world.'
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Honoring Black History: The origin of Savannah's Greenbriar Children's Center
For the past 75 years, Greenbriar Children's Center has been a place of refuge for young people who've often had to deal with circumstances beyond their to understand its mission, you have to consider its past. Greenbriar Children's Center's began with a vision for a brighter future for Black children in started with a charitable donation from local philanthropist, Adeline Graham, who passed away in her will she left $2,200 dollars to be used for an orphanage. Gena Taylor is the center's Executive Director. She says prior to this time, young black children without parental support were placed in local penal facilities like the Brown Farm— a 400 acre Jim Crow era camp surrounding Montgomery Cross Road where inmates labored in poor conditions. With the support of Rev. Dr. Ralph Mark Gilbert— pastor of First African Baptist Church and president of the local chapter of the NAACP– Greenbriar was established by five young women from the Gamma Sigma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated who saw a cause in need of help. They used the seed money to establish the area's first dedicated center for Black children. Before finding a permanent home, Greenbriar occupied a number of spaces, including the Women's Army Corp (WAC) building on Hunter Army Airfield in 1949, and several houses in the Carver Village community in the early May of 1954, Greenbriar expanded by acquiring a 15-acre property on Hopkins Street. One of the first children to walk through its doors was Carolyn Maynor who recently shared her story at the agency's 75th anniversary gala. She credits the love and support she received at Greenbriar for guiding her an adult, Ms. Maynor became the first Black Telecommunications Operator at the Executive Offices of the President during the Nixon era 1969-1971. She then worked for the US Attorney's Office in Washington, DC, the District Attorney's office in Savannah as a Victim Advocate for the Victim Witness Program, and the Fulton County Courthouse before returning to DC to work for the US Office of Special Counsel until her retirement in 2005. Maynor's lived experience is what Taylor says they strive for every day through its enduring mission of uplifting our most vulnerable children and paving the way for a brighter future. Greenbriar currently provides childcare, accredited and affordable early learning programs, family preservation and counseling services, and an emergency shelter for children and young adults. Greenbriar's first executive director, Doris Roberts, created the agency's very first childcare currently operate three in addition to accredited and affordable early learning programs, family preservation, counseling services, and an emergency shelter for children and young center also operates more than 70 Project Safe Place sites in the Savannah area. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
14-02-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Walking through history and Savannah's stories of slavery
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up We lingered in the square as Rumpel told us the story of Andrew Bryan, one of the founders of the First African Baptist Church, who was publicly whipped and imprisoned for preaching. Many slave owners had forbidden their slaves to listen to Bryan's sermons. Bryan would not capitulate and would later be revered and honored for his actions. Advertisement Later, Congregationalists would gather at the church to raise some $2,000 for the Bryan School, one of the first schools for Blacks, established in January 1865. The First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga., a registered historic landmark, is home to the oldest continuous Black congregation in the nation. Pamela Wright 'More than 350 schoolchildren walked right down here, singing for freedom,' said Rumpel, as we walked through City Market and he played the gospel song 'We Shall Be Free,' from his portable speaker. He pointed out the former school building (now a storefront) that was ironically (and sadly) once the office and brokerage for a prominent slave trader. 'There were still stacks of bills of sale for slaves. The children turned them over and used them for paper,' Rumpel said. 'I guess that's what you call turning the page.' Advertisement We walked to Johnson Square, the oldest and largest square in Savannah, surrounded by some of the city's most opulent buildings, including City Hall, Christ Episcopal Church, and several banks. 'The slave traders were operating right here,' Rumpel said. 'At the end of the block was Negro Yard, where the slaves were held before auction. The first Tuesday of the month, families walked down the street in handcuffs to be auctioned off.' The first Civil War secession rally was also held in Johnson Square. On Nov. 8, 1860, a large crowd gathered to oppose the election of Abraham Lincoln and called for a state secession convention. They raised the first secession flag in the South, with the image of a coiled snake and the words 'Southern Rights. Equality of the States. Don't Tread on Me.' Fritz Rumpel, local historian and tour guide in Savannah, shows a photo of an ad for one of the largest slave auctions in the country. Pamela Wright Leaving the square, Rumpel stopped again to show us a copy of a poster advertising a slave auction. In March 1857, during two rainy days at a racetrack located just outside downtown, 436 men, women, and children were sold. It was one of the largest slave auctions in the history of America. 'Some thought it became known as The Weeping Time because of the rain,' Rumpel said. 'But we know it was the heavens that were weeping. The rain stopped when the auction was over.' Our final stop was Madison Square, where Rumpel pointed out the Advertisement The Savannah African Art Museum has an impressive display of 19th- and 20th-century art from West and Central Africa. Pamela Wright Four days before, Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton had met with 20 Black ministers and asked them what they would need to take care of themselves and succeed in life. They answered: land. Sherman confiscated 400,000 acres of private land owned by Confederates, largely along the Sea Islands, and redistributed it to freed slaves in 40-acre plots. It came to be known as the 'Isn't it ironic?' Chuck Ward, our traveling companion said. We were dining at Planters Tavern in the cellar of The Olde Pink House, enjoying blackened oysters, sweet local crab cakes nestled between two fried green tomato slices, and sauteed shrimp with country ham gravy and a cheddar cheese grits cake. Ironic because when James Oglethorpe founded Savannah and the colony of Georgia in 1733, slavery was forbidden. His vision: to create a classless, egalitarian society where all could make a better life. The Pin Point Heritage Museum, located in a former oyster and crab factory on the banks of the Moon River, is a fascinating place to learn about Savannah's Gullah Geechee culture. Pamela Wright Learn more Savannah has several other places to learn about its Black history and African American heritage. The Advertisement The The The Diane Bair and Pamela Wright can be reached at
