August 15th 2023.
Savannah, Georgia is taking steps to rename a city square with a long and troubled history. The area, formerly known as Calhoun City Square, was dedicated to John C. Calhoun, a United States Senator from South Carolina who was a staunch defender of slavery.
An activist group called the Center for Jubilee, Reconciliation and Healing, founded by Patt Gunn and Rosalyn Rouse, has been calling for the renaming of the square since 2021. The members of the group argued that this particular area of the city was located near a burial ground for enslaved people and it would be wrong to keep Calhoun's name on it.
Following the observance ceremony at the group’s Jubilee Freedom Day, Gunn and Rouse began collecting signatures from surrounding property owners in accordance with the city’s renaming process. Unfortunately, they were unable to meet the threshold of signatures needed for the renaming.
Despite this setback, the Savannah City Council voted in favor of removing Calhoun's name from the square. The council has shortlisted a list of five potential names for the square, with Susie King Taylor being the favorite. Taylor was an ex-enslaved person who became a teacher of formerly enslaved people and an Army nurse for the Union during the Civil War.
If chosen, Taylor will be the first woman and non-white person to have a Savannah city square named in her honor. Other names proposed include the Creek Tribe of Native Americans who occupied the land before it was colonized, George Leisle, W.W Law, and “The Seven Sisters”.
Rossie Norris, a Savannah area educator, expressed her support for Taylor during a public meeting. “A lot of Savannah’s enslaved history has been erased from this beautiful city,” Norris said. “My thoughts are that this would be an amazing way to give credence to an African American shero.”
The council is expected to make a final decision on who the square will be named after in August. It is a momentous step in Savannah's history that will honor the legacy of an African American shero and bring recognition to those who have been wrongfully erased from the city's history.
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