Echoing call: King monument should be first of many Savannah monuments to Black icons

Adam Van Brimmer, Savannah Morning News
·4 min read

This is a column by Opinion Editor Adam Van Brimmer.

A year ago, I crafted the following column calling on Savannah to commit to making the Martin Luther King, Jr. monument at Plant Riverside the first of many honoring Black individuals and that future memorials should honor those who helped shape this community.

As of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2022, there are no plans for additional statues, at least not publicly.

So today's column is a rerun of that 2021 piece, and we will publish it every year during the week of King's birthday until we see a memorial to W.W. Law or Eugene Gadsden or Mother Mathilda Beasley or some other Black Savannah icon.

Note: I have updated the piece to reflect the unveiling of the King statue on Jan. 15. The rest of the column appears as it was published on Jan. 15, 2021.

***

The pedestal and bust stand like a promise, just a few paces upriver from the powerplant turned hotel at Plant Riverside.

The pedestal for the Martin Luther King, Jr statute sits at the end of Martin Luther King, Jr Blvd. next to Plant Riverside. (Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News)
The pedestal for the Martin Luther King, Jr statute sits at the end of Martin Luther King, Jr Blvd. next to Plant Riverside. (Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News)

A monument to Martin Luther King Jr. was unveiled on Jan. 15, 2022 and is the newest statue in a historic district that boasts nearly as many sculptured likenesses of icons as it does clumps of Spanish moss. The King memorial is starkly different than the rest, though, because it is the first that pays tribute to an African American individual.

This shameful fact must be rectified. Our city pays homage to Georgia's founder, war heroes, even a lonely woman known solely for waving a blanket at passing ships through its statuary but has erected just one monument to a African American icon.

The absence is more than conspicuous, it's embarrassing, especially when you consider busts of two Confederate leaders and a statue of a Confederate soldier comprise the centerpiece of our city's showpiece park.

Some Savannahians bristle at this narrative. They point to the two statues that honor nameless Black difference makers in our community, one celebrating the end of slavery and the other paying tribute to Haitian soldiers who fought alongside the Georgia colonists in the Revolutionary War.

The bronze sculpture of Georgia's founder, General James Oglethorpe, was created by artist Daniel Chester French in 1910. It is said that Oglethorpe faces South in Chippewa Square to guard against the Spanish. General Oglethorpe statue in Chippewa Square.
The bronze sculpture of Georgia's founder, General James Oglethorpe, was created by artist Daniel Chester French in 1910. It is said that Oglethorpe faces South in Chippewa Square to guard against the Spanish. General Oglethorpe statue in Chippewa Square.

King tribute: Monument for Martin Luther King Jr. planned for Plant Riverside

Grand opening: Savannah’s Plant Riverside District officially opens

Both are fitting memorials and tell part of Savannah's history. But there are dozens of African American heroes bearing local household names who made significant contributions to our city over the years.

As Otis Johnson, former Savannah mayor and one intimately familiar with the city's history, recently put it, "Black folk" built Savannah, too.

"They just did what they did in the segregated part of Savannah," Johnson said. "If you look at it as a whole, the Black folk of this city were integral socially, politically and economically."

A statue of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, stands in Savannah's Reynolds Square.
A statue of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, stands in Savannah's Reynolds Square.

Johnson's point is inarguable. Asked who would be on the "Mount Rushmore" of Savannah's African American icons, his contemplative silence spoke volumes: It wasn't that he couldn't think of candidates; it was his inability to narrow the dozens down to four.

Editorial: Plans for King monument sparks call for more tributes to African Americans

He mentioned Andrew Bryan, founder of First African Baptist Church, and civil rights leaders W.W. Law and Ralph Mark Gilbert. Then there were educators such as Richard R. Wright, political trailblazers such as Bobby Hill and philanthropists such as Cornelius and Alice McKane, who founded Charity Hospital.

Let's not forget those from Savannah's early history either, particularly Black women such as Mother Mathilda Beasley and Susie King Taylor.

It would take almost as much stone to make statues for all the deserving Black Savannahians as it did to carve Washington's, Roosevelt's, Jefferson's and Lincoln's mugs from the edifice in South Dakota.

Adam Van Brimmer
Adam Van Brimmer

The King monument is a step in the right direction for Savannah. Plant Riverside developer Richard Kessler deserves credit for commissioning and building a home for the bust.

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Day, what better time for this community to consider who among Savannah's African American icons should be the first to be celebrated in statue form. We have plenty to choose from, and James Oglethorpe, Casimir Pulaski, Jasper Green and Florence Martus won't mind the company.

Contact Adam Van Brimmer at avanbrimmer@savannahnow.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah statues honor historic leaders; African American icons left out