Savannah is filled with important Black history that is hidden from plain sight

In 2015, I traveled to Accra, Ghana, and visited the slave castle at Cape Coast.

Interestingly, the area where captured Africans were held looked much like the area where I’d seen cars parked on Factors Walk in Savannah. Upon my return to Savannah, I asked Prof. Amir Jamal Touré, J.D., about the similarities. He confirmed that the structures in Savannah may also have held captured Africans; but that there was no historical documentation to support the claim and there were many who would want to refute that premise.

A few months ago, I traveled to Birmingham, Ala., to attend a conference on Africana Studies. The hotel where I stayed was near the river front and was down the street from structures that looked like the ones I’d seen in Cape Coast and Savannah. The Keynote Speaker of the conference, Bryan Stevenson, told us that those structures warehoused captured Africans.

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Since the structures at Cape Coast and Birmingham held captive Africans, and since those structures are exactly the same type of structures seen on Factors Walk in Savannah, one could reason that what we see in Savannah are structures that once held scores of captive Africans with little ventilation, no areas to relieve oneself, and no consideration for comfort of any kind.

Captive Africans were hoarded in such structures in the slave castles along the western coast of the continent of Africa. They were bound side-by-side in the hull of ships that carried them across the trans-Atlantic journey.

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Upon arrival to shores like Savannah and Birmingham, they were stored like cargo in these cave-like dwellings called Slave Barracoons.

The structures have semi-circular archways leading into the interior of the dwelling. The semi-circular arch was developed by the Romans and are self-supporting structures that are stabilized by the force of gravity. They are very stable, efficient and strong — capable of holding greater loads.

The archway structure is also economical because it requires no beams. What an ideal holding space for hoarding a greater number of people with no regard to their comfort or needs. One sign at the entrance informs onlookers about Charles Blaney Cluskey, and identifies him as the architect of the vaults, as they’re referred to on the signs.

Another sign educates about the research conducted to determine if the vaults had been used to hold captive Africans. Young men in the Earl T. Shinholster Leadership Institute initiated the request for such research in 2012. Unfortunately, the research team, consisting of city archivist, archaeologist and students from Georgia Southern University, were not able to discover historical clues that revealed the usage of the four vaults.

However, could it be that these structures, next to the back entrance of City Hall, along Factors Walk, are really evidence of Savannah’s hidden Black history in plain sight?

Hidden history lessons are plentiful in Savannah.

Consider, for example, the Montmollin Building in City Market, located at 21 Barnard Street. This building sits right in the heart of our City Market and is currently a store offering a variety of items for pets – collars, toys, food, etc. However, less that 200 years ago, captured Africans were stored in this building. Here they were inspected and bought and sold as enslaved people. From 1850s until well after the Emancipation Proclamation, the building owner, John S. Montmollin, and his third floor tenant, Alexander Bryan, used the building to hold and sell captured Africans and their enslaved descendants.

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The business of the buying and selling enslaved Blacks ended in this building only after Sherman’s March to the Sea culminated with the capture of Savannah and the subsequent freeing of enslaved people. There are no signs or commemoration to the connection of this building to the slave trade.

Have you ever looked at First African Baptist Church and marveled at its red doors?

Most people know that First African Baptist is the oldest continual Black congregation in the US. Organized in 1773, it is older than the formal existence of this country. But do you know the story behind the current building site?

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In the 1850s, a doctrinal conflict resulted in the majority of the congregation leaving the original location on Bryan Street and purchasing the property of the present sanctuary across from Franklin Square. Freed Blacks and enslaved Blacks worked together to build the new sanctuary. The purchase price was $1500 in 1832. Hard work and brilliant money management enabled the congregation to come up with $1000 in one month.

That move surprised the property owners, who decided to give the Blacks an additional five months to come up with the remaining $500. And, they did!

According to African custom, the doors of property that is owned outright are painted red. In keeping with this custom, the congregation intentionally painted the doors to the sanctuary red.

Walking away from First African Baptist and walking towards City Market, one will noticed that it’s very touristy and appealing to visitors. Imagine that same area more than 50 years ago. In your mind’s eye, you’ll hear the Hucksters cry out “Crab Sweet, Crab Sweet, Onion Man, Onion man” as they yelled to passers-by to promote whatever produce they were selling, as explained by Touré. That’s because in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, the stores in City Market were owned primarily by Blacks who were selling produce and agriculture – the fish market on Bryan Street, a shoeshine business, tire stores, Ms. Lucy’s shop where she sold a variety of fruit and had binnies (baby chickens) in the window. Consider the close proximity of City Market to West Broad Street, which was lined with Black businesses and residents.

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It’s easy then, to imagine a City Market lined with businesses owned by Blacks that catered to Blacks. But Black entrepreneurship is not what you see now.

The Black entrepreneurs needed a bank they could trust to hold their profits. Many utilized the Wage Earner Bank located at 460 West Broad. Built in 1914, the bank became the second largest Black bank in the U.S.

Does that address seem familiar? It is the address for the current Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum. When you visit that Civil Rights Museum, not only are you learning about local Black history, you’re also touching Savannah’s hidden Black history in plain sight.

Savannah has so many hidden gems. Many are unique to our area; some are jewels of African culture that few know. Consider, for example, the porch attached to houses. Many people assume porches are a European architectural concept. Think again. Africans are communal by nature. The porch, as we refer to them today, are actually concepts that originated in Africa where people gathered to talk and commune with another.

From River Street to Broad Street to Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., and through the City Market area are gems of history. The next time you’re in the area, remember to look for pieces of Savannah’s hidden Black history in plain sight.

Maxine L. Bryant, Ph.D., is a contributing lifestyles columnist. She is an assistant professor, Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology; director, Center for Africana Studies, and director, Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center at Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus.

Contact her at 912-344-3602 or email dr.maxinebryant@gmail.com. See more columns by her at SavannahNow.com/lifestyle/.