Rising Voices: Underrepresented History (by Walk With Me Savannah Tours)

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. In Franklin Square we will discuss how Haiti volunteered during the American Revolution, clandestine schools that operated in Savannah that taught literacy to black students while such an education was outlawed, the First African Baptist Church which houses the oldest African Baptist congregation in the country, and its role in the Underground Railroad.

   15 min

2. Passing through City Market, we will see Club One, the home performance venue of Lady Chablis, a Savannah LGBTQ icon. We will also see the building that was home to one of the most active markets for the selling of humans as property, which was immediately converted into a freedman's school after emancipation by some of the very people who were sold as property inside.

   10 min

3. We will stop in front of Telfair Academy and discuss Mary Telfair, a woman who defied the expectations placed on her by gender roles at the time and began the legacy of preservation in Savannah.

   10 min

4. Here we will discuss the impacts of two key native figures in Savannah history: Tomochichi, chief and founder of the native Yamacraw tribe, and Coosaponakeesa (AKA Mary Musgrove) a Creek woman. Both were as instrumental in the shaping of Savannah as Oglethorpe who is considered the founder.

   15 min

5. Here we will discuss Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the girl Scouts, as well as other unconventional female family members, and how they impacted the roles women would play in the future, and will also touch on Julliette's hearing loss.

   5 min

6. Here we will briefly discuss the original site of the Savannah Catholic Church, founded by the Haitian community discussed earlier. We we also discuss Susie King Taylor, a self-freed woman who served as a nurse and teacher during the Civil War, published a memoir, and opened a school for black children just off of Chippewa Square.

   15 min

7. Here we will stop in front of the Green-Meldrim house and discuss Field Order 15, as issued by General Sherman but formed and negotiated by a group of 20 black pastors and community leaders led by Garrison Frazier, how it was the birth of practical reparation efforts, and why it implementation was prevented.

   15 min

8. Here we will discuss Jim Williams, famous from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, but a prominent Savannah gay man who also began Savannah's entire restoration movement. We will also see the monument of Count Casimir Pulaski, and discuss his impact on the Revolution and the recent discovery that he was likely an intersex person.

   15 min

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 51 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Savannah

• Its from-price is close to the median of the 273 experiences we list in Savannah.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 112 of 273.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Savannah

Savannah is a Georgia coastal city of oak-shaded squares, Spanish moss, cobbled riverfront streets and beautifully kept Southern architecture.

Savannah was founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe as the first city of the colony of Georgia, and he laid it out on a grid built around small public squares. Twenty-two of the squares survive, shaded by live oaks draped in Spanish moss and filled with fountains and monuments. Forsyth Park, with its white fountain, is the largest green space in the historic district, and the Cathedral of St John the Baptist rises with twin spires.

Top-ranked sights in Savannah: Savannah River Street, Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Forsyth Park.

See all 273 experiences in Savannah