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BLACK HISTORY Honoring the community’s African-American heritage
FEBRUARY 3-9, 2021
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WEEK CONNECT SAVANNAH
AT A GLANCE
HIGHLIGHTED PICKS FROM HOSTESS CITY HAPPENINGS THIS WEEK TO HAVE YOUR EVENT CONSIDERED FOR INCLUSION IN WEEK AT A GLANCE, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO WAG@CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM. INCLUDE THE EVENT NAME, DATE, TIME, LOCATION WITH ADDRESS, COST, WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, AND A CONTACT NUMBER. THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS 5PM EACH FRIDAY BEFORE THE FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY’S EDITION.
Local Artist Showcase at Cedar House
WEDNESDAY 2.3
The 5th Cedar House Gallery will be open after hours for this event featuring 27 different artists’ works. 6-9 p.m. Cedar House Gallery, 122 E. 36th St. cedarhousegallerysav.com/ shows-events
Maritime After Hours
The crew at Coach’s Corner is hosting Maritime After Hours in the courtyard out back where there will be plenty of space for social distancing. The networking event is hosted to support the huge economic engine, the Maritime community. 5:15-7:15 p.m. Coach’s Corner, 3016 E. Victory Dr.
The Savannah Brewer’s League will host their monthly meeting at Moon River Brewing Company. 7:30-9 p.m. Moon River Brewing Co., 21 West Bay St.
Trivia Night with Jess Shaw
Jess Shaw and Kevin Ryan will guide participants through an evening of trivia and self discovery. 6:30 p.m. Service Brewing Company, 574 Indian Street. servicebrewing.com
THURSDAY 2.4 Pups and Pints
Bring your dogs and puppies out to B&D Burgers for Pups & Pints every Thursday 4-7pm. Enjoy $5 Tito’s Handmade Vodka, 1/2 Priced BrewDog Drafts, treats for you and your dogs, raffles to raise money for pet rescues and more. 4-7 p.m. B & D Burgers, 11108 Abercorn St.
The Savannah Underground
Experience Savannah’s dark past like never before in an exclusive showing of An Immersive Experience’s, The Savannah Underground - a 360 degree live ex-
5-21
FEB/
SAVANNAH BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL
Savannah will celebrate its 32nd-annual Black Heritage Festival virtually this year. The theme for the three-week event scheduled to span Feb. 5-21 is “Reflect, Reform, Rejoice.” The festival’s main events will broadcast on WSAV-TV and be available to watch live on the Savannah Black Heritage Festival’s Facebook page. Visit savannahblackheritagefestival.org for details on all events and activities. Admission is free and open to the public. Online only savannahblackheritagefestival.org perience about three of Savannah’s scariest true tales of murder, folklore, and haunts. 6 p.m. The Clyde Venue, 223 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. thesavannahunderground.com
FRIDAY 2.5 Bluegrass By The Pint w/ Swamptooth
Join Service Brewing for Bluegrass by the Pint every Friday featuring live bluegrass from favorite local favorite’s, Swamptooth. 6 p.m. Service Brewing Company, 574 Indian Street.
First Friday
La Scala Ristorante partners with Coastal Pet Rescue for an evening of delicious dollar oysters,
Campfire Cannoli, $5 Peroni, and the company of some of Savannah’s finest crafts people. Face masks are required to attend. 5-10 p.m. La Scala Ristorante, 119 E 37th St. facebook.com/events/
Legends Live On Stage
Live on stage! The international vocal group LEGACY and Savannah Theatre Band take the audience on a journey through the decades of timeless music from the Beatles to Bruno Mars and The Four Seasons to Earth, Wind and Fire. Seating limited to 35% capacity for safe distancing. Shows are at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. 8 p.m. Savannah Theatre, 222 Bull Street. $39, $19.50 16 and under savannahtheatre.com
Camino de Santiago “Walk and Learn”
Learn about Spain’s Camino de Santiago trail with experienced hikers that will share stories from walking the 500-mile historic trail. The walking group will meet at Lake Mayer’s entrance near the bronze jogger statue. noon Lake Mayer, 1850 E. Montgomery Crossroads. 912-844-9990
First Saturday Hike
This moderately-paced hike includes a talk about the different ecosystems of the park. Wear sturdy shoes and bring water and insect repellant. Parking pass is $5. first Saturday of every month, 10-11 a.m. Fort McAllister Historic Park, 3894 Fort McAllister Rd. $2 912-727-2339. explore.gastateparks.org
Forsyth Farmers Market
Local and regional produce, honey, meat, dairy, pasta, baked goods and other delights. Rain or shine. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Forsyth Park, Drayton St. & East Park Ave. Free to attend. Items for sale. forsythfarmersmarket.com
EVENTS CONTINUE ON PG 6
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
Service Brewing League Monthly Meeting
SATURDAY 2.6
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Rev. Thurmond Tillman, the pastor of Savannah’s First African Baptist Church. Photo by Alex Neumann CONNECT SAVANNAH
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Honoring the community’s African-American heritage
FEBRUARY 3-9, 2021
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AT A GLANCE
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Savannah Harley-Davidson Annual Chili Cook Off
NEWS | ARTS | ENTERTAINMENT
WENDY WICKHAM BUSINESS MANAGER wendy@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4373
WEEK
Join Savannah Harley-Davidson for their 12th annual Chili Cook Off. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Savannah Harley-Davidson (Southside), 6 Gateway Blvd.
SUNDAY 2.7 Action-Packed Sundays
Hang out at Two Tides and watch some staff-favorite action flicks and enjoy snacks and drinks. This week’s pick is “Predator” and “Aliens.” This event is free. 5-9 p.m. Two Tides Brewing Company, 12 West 41st St.
Super Bowl Sunday at Saddlebags
Saddlebags has paired with Hole in the Wall Burgers and Jay Trikha to host a Super Bowl watch party with beer, wing, and burger specials and no cover all night long. All-you-candrink tickets are available for $50. 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Saddle Bags Savannah, 317 West River Street. eventbrite.com
MONDAY 2.8 Norman Fries Distinguished Lectureship Series
This talk describes the way pandemics provide opportunities for re-visioning and re-imagining Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. This lecture will discuss how instead of “getting back to normal”, to say it is time to get on to new and more equitable ways of educating all students and creating a more democratic society. 7 p.m. Online only, none. georgiasouthern.edu/fries
TUESDAY 2.9 Toddler Tuesday at Oatland Island Wildlife Center
Explore the wonders of nature with all kinds of wild fun for your wee ones. Each Toddler Tuesday features singing, a story, and a close encounter with one of the center’s many adorable animals amid the wildlife sanctuary’s natural splendor. This week’s theme is “Eye Spy Bobcats!” Pre-registration required. 10 & 11 a.m.
A process of becoming PERHAPS YOU’VE noticed a few changes in Connect Savannah recently – a new logo, glossy cover pages, a more colorful interior design. Well, the world is certainly entering a new era now, and with it comes a fresh look and outlook for our publication; what do you think? To keep up with our changing times, we are aiming to make Connect Savannah more reflective of our entire community in the Hostess City and across Chatham County, while increasing our coverage of local news, arts, and entertainment with high-quality journalism and an open mind. We consider you, our dear readers, to be the most crucial participant in this transformation, and welcome your input on the process going forward. Whether your feelings about Connect
Savannah are positive, negative, or anywhere in between, we encourage you to reach out to us with your feedback. There are more changes on the horizon for us – new sections, more indepth news articles, and expanded coverage of the local arts scene, just to name a few – and we always appreciate it when readers take the time to let us know how we’re doing. So please, feel free to send us your thoughts about Connect Savannah by e-mailing us at letters@connectsavannah. com – and if you are interested in contributing articles or suggesting a certain event, exhibit, or other noteworthy topic that you believe warrants coverage, we would be glad to hear from you. Drop us a line anytime! − Nick Robertson
NEWS
BRIEFS
Chatham transit board ousts CEO, picks fill-in
THE CHATHAM Area Transit Authority, and Transit Board of Directors before that she served as voted 6-3 to terminate CAT the executive director CEO Bacarra Mauldin durof a paratransit services ing their Jan. 26 monthly agency in Birmingham, meeting, and have since Alabama for six months in appointed longtime CAT 2019, according to a Birmingham Times article. employee Valerie Ragland On Jan. 29, a statement as an interim CEO, accordwas issued by the three ing to statements issued CAT board members who by CAT Board Chairman voted to retain Mauldin Deidrick Cody. – Board Vice-Chairman During the last few minInterim CEO Valerie Ragland Clinton Edminster, utes of the Jan. 26 virtual Savannah Alderman Detmeeting, board member ric Leggett, and Gertrude Robinson – critiHelen Stone − the Chatham County Comcizing the decision to oust her from the missioner for District 1 − initiated MauldCEO position. in’s removal. “We voted not to terminate Bacarra “I make the motion that at this time it Mauldin because we believe she did nothis necessary to terminate our executive ing wrong,” the statement reads. “Her director, effective immediately,” Stone termination is not only a huge loss, but a said. Board member Tabitha Odell secdevastating blow to the future stability of onded the motion. this organization.” After the 6-3 vote was taken, Cody – However, according to another statewho voted to remove Mauldin – expressed ment by Cody issued later on Jan. 29 to gratitude to the freshly fired CEO for her announce the board’s selection of Ragland, work at CAT. “I am sorry we had to close out like this. the “Chatham Area Transit Authority is on an upward trajectory” that will continue I want to also thank Ms. Mauldin for her under the interim CEO. services,” Cody said. “With three decades of experience “Thank you for the opportunity to across several key roles, Valerie Ragland serve,” Mauldin replied, before abruptly epitomizes the mission and values of Chadeparting from the meeting. tham Area Transit,” Cody stated. PreviMauldin was announced as CAT’s new ously Ragland served as CAT’s Outreach CEO in June of 2020. Previously she Manager. served as the Director of Policy and Inno− Nick Robertson vation with the New Orleans Regional
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CHATHAM COMMISSION Chairman Chester Ellis issued the ninth continuation of the countywide State of Emergency on Jan. 29 in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, extending the requirement for using face masks or coverings to continue from Feb. 4 through March 5. “The countywide State of Emergency orders all persons wear a mask or face covering in public spaces to include commercial establishments, public places, government buildings, or any time people gather in groups of ten or more,” the order states. “Masks or face coverings are required to properly cover the nose and mouth.” The order also allows Chatham County’s
municipalities to impose more restrictive COVID-19 safety rules, but does not allow municipalities to disregard the countywide edict. Ellis said that public-health experts are warning that the next two months are expected to be the most deadly period of the entire pandemic, with new coronavirus variants complicating the response . “We’ve got to pay more attention to the health professionals,” Ellis said, adding that he’s recently observed many people in Chatham County disregarding basic COVID-19 precautions like social distancing. “We have to act like this is a pandemic and this is a virus, and stop taking it lightly.” − Nick Robertson
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THE SAVANNAH Police Department selected Gerard V. Tate to lead the agency’s End Gun Violence program, with a goal of reducing the number of shooting incidents and other gun-related crime issues that occur citywide. According to an announcement by the SPD, Tate previously served as a Police and Community Engagement Specialist in Ferguson, Missouri, and was also employed as the Police Support Services Division Manager in Marysville, California. He is a ten-year U.S. Army veteran, with his service including time as a military police officer working in the criminal investigations section. “As a native of one of the most notorious gun-violence hotspots in America, I have firsthand knowledge of what it is like to grow up in communities plagued by gun violence,” Tate stated, referring to his upbringing in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. Tate’s educational background includes earning a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Webster University, a master’s in social work from Washington University in St. Louis, and his doctorate in social work from University of Southern California.
End Gun Violence Director Gerard V. Tate
“My personal, academic, and occupational experiences have prepared me precisely for a role like the End Gun Violence Director for the Savannah Police Department,” Tate stated. Savannah’s entire police force will benefit from Tate’s ability to identify root causes of local crime through an understanding of human behavior and social policy, according to SPD Chief Roy Minter. “Our highest priority is to address and reduce gun violence in our community. We are very fortunate to have someone with
the knowledge and expertise that Dr. Tate has at the helm of this program,” Minter stated. In his new role, Tate will manage dayto-day operations of the SPD’s End Gun Violence program, created to address Savannah’s gun-violence issues with a public-health approach used to implement strategies that reduce violent crime. Tate’s work also entails engaging directly with the community, drawing on his experience of working with middle-school students as a D.A.R.E. officer. According to the SPD website, the End Gun Violence program targets Savannah’s most violent groups and gang members who are responsible for a majority of shootings and homicides in the community, offering to provide them with social services to break free from the cycle of violence that often results in gun-related crimes. Tate begins his service with the SPD in the first week of February, according to the Jan. 29 announcement. “The Savannah Police Department is very excited about the addition of Dr. Tate to our agency,” Minter stated. − Nick Robertson
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AS A CELEBRATION of Black History Month, beginning in early February the Massie Heritage Center will debut a new exhibition to highlight the legacy of Savannah civil-rights leader W.W. Law, in partnership with the city’s Municipal Archives department. Savannah-born Westley Wallace Law (1923-2002), commonly known as W.W. Law, is considered an icon of the civilrights movement as a historian, teacher, preservationist, and an inspiring presence in the community during an era of inequality and social injustice. Among Law’s many accomplishments, the Massie Heritage Center exhibit will highlight his establishing the Negro Heritage Trail, an educational walking tour in Savannah that Law curated. Law also led the movement to preserve one of Savannah’s historical treasures, the King-Tisdell Cottage, which at one point was slated for demolition. The collaboration between the Massie
The exhibit honoring W.W. Law. PHOTO COURTESY OF MASSIE HERITAGE CENTER
Heritage Center and Savannah’s Municipal Archives will include a visual exhibit shedding light on Law’s legacy, with documents and images capturing the inception and early years of the Negro Heritage Trail. The display will be on view during Feb. 8-March 8 in the Massie Heritage Center’s Heritage Classroom. To complement this exhibit, recreations
of the Negro Heritage Trail tours − “Revisiting W.W. Law’s Negro Heritage Trail” − will be offered every Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. throughout the month of the exhibition. Tours will focus on the National Historic Landmark District, and they will highlight Law’s legacy in the city of Savannah. “We are here as educators, and Mr. Law was a pioneer of heritage education in Savannah. He fervently believed that in order to empower yourself you have to know about your past, and he believed that you cannot possibly tell the history of Savannah without the Black perspective, so that’s why he put this trail together,” said Massie Heritage Center Curator Steven Smith. Admission is $10 per person for both the exhibit and tour, with pandemic-safety precautions enforced and face masks required throughout the exhibition. Visit massieschool.com for more details. − Brandy Simpkins
SPORTS
Savannah scores pro hockey team for arena
Contest will determine team name quipped of Savannah’s soon-to-be rival BY NICK ROBERTSON teams. nick@connectsavannah.com Savannah’s pro hockey team will be an official affiliate to the NHL and AHL, with SLAP SHOTS and hat tricks will get local plans to begin competing in October of hockey fans on their feet soon after the 2022 and playing 36 regular-season home Savannah Arena is completed, according games, according to the team’s official to Mayor Van Johnson’s Jan. 27 announce- savannahprohockey.com website. ment that the city will be home to a new Team management also announced professional ice-hockey team in the near that a “Good Neighbor” program will be future. established to Johnson work with Savanjoined other city nah’s nonprofit leaders at the community Savannah Arena groups to bring construction site hockey-based to announce the educational formation of the opportunities for new team, which local youths. will be named The team is based on the being established results of a conthrough a coltest. The team is laboration with Savannah leaders participate in a first face-off the first official the Oak View at the arena site. PHOTO BY NICK ROBERTSON tenant at the Group, the comSavannah Arena, pany hired by which is scheduled to open in winter of Savannah’s City Council to manage and 2022. operate the Savannah Arena. According to “Savannah is officially a hockey town Oak View Group Chairman Peter Luukko, now,” Johnson exclaimed at a press conhockey will be only one of many attracference held amid the partially completed tions at the city’s newest major venue. arena’s exposed girders and concrete slabs, “You’re going to see Beyoncé here. while construction workers plugged away You’re going to see Bon Jovi here,” Luukko throughout the stories-tall framework said during the press conference. “Savantowering over the city’s Canal District. nah’s new professional hockey team is the “As you can see, this is rapidly becomfirst in many terrific events and attractions ing reality,” Johnson said of the Savannah we will bring to the new Savannah Arena.” Arena, which is being built for $165 million Luukko emphasized that Oak View with Special Purpose Local Option Sales Group would be developing and impleTax funding. “This will serve as a gathermenting new protocols at the Savannah ing place, a meeting place, a fun place.” Arena to establish systems to ensure panSavannah’s ECHL hockey team will be demic safety during all events. owned by Roo Hockey, LLC, with the orga“We need to have a safe and sanitized nization being established immediately environment,” Luukko said. and a permanent business office planned Details about the contest to name the to open in the city in July, according to Roo hockey team will be announced soon, Hockey CEO Andy Kaufmann. although Johnson proposed an option dur“We are grateful to the ECHL Board of ing the press conference. Governors for awarding us a new member“It’s going to be, ‘The Savannah City ship,” Kaufmann stated. “Savannah is a Council,’” Johnson declared to the nonterrific sports town and we look forward to plussed crowd, before immediately withmaking it a fantastic hockey town.” drawing the proposal. “It sounded good According to ECHL Commissioner Ryan when we talked about it.” Crelin, Savannah’s hockey team will be Following the press conference, Johntaking on regional competitors such as the son joined fellow City Council members Atlanta Gladiators and the Jacksonville Linda Wilder-Bryan and Nick Palumbo Icemen. for a ceremonial first face-off at a goal set “Jacksonville, you’re going down. up by the edge of the construction site’s Atlanta, you’re going down,” Johnson muddy rubble. cs
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NEWS
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SITES OF SAVANNAH’S BLACK HISTORY In honor of Black History Month, we present five sites around Savannah that were all major settings in the long saga of this community’s AfricanAmerican population, with insight from local leaders and historians to illustrate why these locations are all revered and recognized with commemorative plaques by the Georgia Historical Society. Savannah’s African-American Monument by River Street. PHOTO BY ALEX NEUMANN
BLACK HISTORY
FIRST BRYAN BAPTIST CHURCH
The historical plaque honoring Andrew Bryan before the church that bears his name. PHOTO BY NICK ROBERTSON
Benton said, noting that this violence did not deter Bryan from returning to Savannah to preach, even after he was jailed twice. “Andrew Bryan left Yamacraw and came back to Yamacraw three different times, even though he knew he was going to be persecuted.” In response to the violence inflicted upon Andrew Bryan and his followers, Jonathan Bryan and other moreenlightened white community members defended the practice of allowing the enslaved to congregate and worship. By 1790 Bryan was able to purchase his freedom to pursue preaching full-time, and with the help of his congregation and white sympathizers, he bought the lot where First Bryan Baptist Church now stands at 575 W. Bryan St. for “30 pounds sterling” in September of 1793, according to church records. Benton says that the story behind the storied plot of land now housing this stately church – with its current
incarnation completed in 1888 – is a testimony to the power of unity between people of different races. “It took Blacks and whites working together. Think about the white trustees that stood up. Think about the white slave owners who stood up,” Benton said. “It took people who knew that something was wrong who stood up.” Over the years following its founding, First Bryan Baptist Church played a central role in Savannah’s Black history, up to modern times. Local civil rights leader W.W. Law taught Sunday school here for many years, according to the historic plaque in front of the church, and in September, Rev. Raphael Warnock – the Savannah native who was elected on Jan. 5 to become Georgia’s first Black U.S. Senator – delivered a rousing speech here while on the campaign trail. − Nick Robertson 11
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
REV. ANDREW BRYAN was repeatedly whipped, beaten, and jailed for preaching to Savannah’s enslaved African Americans during the late 1700s, yet he kept returning here until persevering in his mission of building the first Black Baptist church in the United States of America. According to the Georgia Historical Society plaque standing in front of the First Bryan Baptist Church in Savannah’s Yamacraw Village neighborhood just west of downtown, construction of an earlier church building at this location began in 1793 soon after Bryan was able to purchase this lot. That makes this site the oldest parcel of American real estate owned continuously by African Americans, according to church historian Georgia W. Benton. “The whites persecuted him so severely because they didn’t understand the African movement and Christianity combined,” Benton said of Bryan, who was born enslaved but later purchased his freedom before securing the church plot. “Andrew Bryan probably was the first Black to own land in America.” Bryan was born on a plantation belonging to Jonathan Bryan in Goose Creek, South Carolina, where the enslaved were encouraged to practice Christianity and were not forced to work on Sundays, according to Benton. “Jonathan Bryan was a major part of the great Christian awakening for slaves in South Carolina,” Benton said. “There was no problem with Andrew Bryan being religiously trained.” While growing up enslaved on the plantation, Bryan met George Liele – a groundbreaking African-American preacher who converted to Christianity in about 1774, and became the first Black Baptist missionary – and Bryan was baptized along with his wife Hannah. With the consent of Jonathan Bryan, Andrew Bryan began visiting plantations around the region to preach to all Black and white people who gathered to hear him, Benton said. Here in Savannah, a white landowner named Edward Davis allowed Bryan and his growing flock to build a rough wooden house of worship on his property in Yamacraw, then a rural area. However, other white Savannah residents looked upon Bryan’s services with suspicion, thinking them a possible precursor for a slave rebellion, and began interrupting these religious gatherings to violently punish Bryan and the enslaved people in his congregation, according to Benton. “There was nothing easy about the early church, nothing easy at all. Just imagine someone whipping you,”
BLACK HISTORY
Savannah Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier stands beside the plaque recognizing ‘The Weeping Time.’ PHOTO BY ALEX NEUMANN
SITE OF ‘THE WEEPING TIME’
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
WAILS OF ANGUISH continually drowned out the patter of incessantly pouring rain during “The Weeping Time” − one of the largest sales of enslaved people in American history, which occurred on the site of a former racetrack just west of downtown Savannah during March 2-3, 1859. According to the Georgia Historical Society plaque commemorating The Weeping Time in a small West Savannah park at the corner of Augusta Avenue and Dunn Street, plantation owner Pierce M. Butler sold 436 men, women, and children here to pay off his creditors. Numerous slave traders from near and far descended on Savannah’s Ten Broeck Race Course to purchase Butler’s forced laborers, who in the process were frequently ripped apart from their family members forever. For Savannah Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier, a West Savannah native who now represents the surrounding District 1, The Weeping Time hits home in multiple respects. Lanier’s family traces their lineage to enslaved people on one of Butler’s plantations, and she lives just a few blocks away from where the 1859 incident occurred. However, it was only in recent years that The Weeping Time started to be recognized here; Lanier and her neighbors had no idea about it while growing up. “We were surprised that this had happened and we didn’t know about it,” Lanier said of The Weeping Time, adding that history is often obscured in regards to major sales of enslaved people across the South. “Those stories have been swept under the rug and not acknowledged.” Lanier says that the enslaved were often sold in antebellum Savannah’s central Johnson Square, but due to the huge number of people that Butler was trafficking, this sale was held at the racetrack instead. There the enslaved families were kept in horse stables, while their prospective purchasers partied at downtown taverns throughout the multiday sale. “During those three days of the sale, it rained that weekend,” Lanier said, noting that the enslaved were kept in deplorable conditions while awaiting their turn on the auction 12 block. “Folks were becoming ill, and I know they were disheartened with what they were
enduring.” The rain kept dumping down throughout the sale, as children were repeatedly torn from the arms of their sobbing parents to be carted away by new owners to places unknown. The aggrieved victims came to believe that the torrential downpour flowed from the eyes of God, according to Lanier. “God must’ve been weeping because of the tragic situation,” Lanier said, explaining how the sale became known as The Weeping Time. The historical plaque goes on to state that The Weeping Time was widely reported in Northern newspapers, and the reaction among readers deepened America’s divide over the issue of slavery in the years running up to the Civil War. The sale also resulted in a diaspora of this region’s African Americans across the South, with many of their descendants now visiting Savannah to view The Weeping Time site, Lanier said. However, while she is glad that this incident is recognized by the plaque (which is actually located several blocks from the former racetrack location), Lanier believes that a larger memorial, or even a museum, would be a more appropriate homage to The Weeping Time. “When [descendants of the enslaved] come here, what are they looking at? A monument that’s three blocks away,” Lanier said, while acknowledging that the actual site of The Weeping Time sale is currently divided by Interstate 516 and several privately owned lots. “We need to recognize that and create a separate space where people can come and commemorate.” Lanier and other community members are collaboratively working toward realizing that goal in a way that can both boost the local economy of West Savannah and pay tribute to the hundreds of African Americans whose families were irreversibly severed during The Weeping Time. “We consider those properties sacred ground,” Lanier said. “This is bigger than Savannah. It’s an American asset.” − Nick Robertson
BLACK HISTORY
PRIOR TO THE nullification of American chattel slavery, the enslaved were strictly forbidden from educating themselves, but after slavery was abolished, the newly emancipated laborers could finally build their own schools. Following the Civil War, in 1865 Black Savannahians organized the Savannah Educational Association to open schools for newly freed African Americans with fiscal support from Northern church societies. According to a plaque by the Georgia Historical Society at 502 E. Harris St., in 1867 the Beach Institute became Savannah’s first established school erected specifically for the education of African Americans. “The Beach Institute was named after Alfred Ely Beach, for whom Beach High School was named. He was from New York, and he was a scientist and editor of a magazine called Scientific American,” said Dr. Annette Brock, a former vice-president for institutional advancement at Savannah State University. “It is through the money that he gave to the Freedmen’s Bureau, in conjunction with the Union forces during Reconstruction, that allowed the Beach Institute to be built there.” Beach donated $13,000 to the Freedmen’s Bureau, which teamed with the American Missionary Society (AMA) and the Savannah Educational Association to buy the land on which the Beach Institute and a teachers’ house were built by the hands of the formerly enslaved. The AMA collected $1 a month from 600 student attendees before the Savannah Board of Education leased the building from the AMA and began operating it as a free public school for Black children in 1874. Four years later, the school broke out into a mysterious fire, and the students temporarily relocated to Fairlawn Plantation on East Broad Street, according to Brock. “The American Missionary Association administered the school first, and then the school was under the auspices of the Public School System, but after the fire broke out, and the people had to move the school over to the Fairlawn Plantation, the AMA reclaimed the school, taking it back from the public school system,” said Brock. The Beach Institute also became the birthplace of the First Congregational Church and the Savannah Boys Club before 1919, when the AMA withdrew from highschool education efforts in the South to focus on higher education. Following the AMA’s withdrawal from the Beach Institute, the building continued to house many educational establishments until activity stagnated. Brock said that W.W. Law, Savannah’s most prominent African-American civil-rights movement activist, inquired about obtaining the Beach Institute from the Board of Education (which had regained ownership by that time) to boost the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation, an organization he founded to research, collect, interpret,
The historical plaque standing beside The Beach Institute. PHOTO BY BRANDY SIMPKINS
and present African-American history and culture. The Board of Education denied Law for years, but he prevailed until achieving his goal. “He had a big broad vision. He approached the Board of Education about giving him the school to be used as an extension of the education of the execution of the King-Tisdell Cottage’s mission. After a board member connected with the people at SCAD, and Mr. Law made contact with them, they actually purchased the building, and deeded it to us for, like, a dollar,” said Brock. “SCAD painted the roof on the building, and it was turned over to us in a ceremony in 1989. They donated it on account of
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THE BEACH INSTITUTE
the respect and esteem that they had for Mr. Law.” Still today operating under the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation, the original historic building is home to the Beach Institute African-American Cultural Center, hosting exhibits and artistic and educational programs. The upcoming #BLM exhibit at the Beach Institute, organized in cooperation with the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, opens on Feb. 3 and continues through April 30, featuring artwork by students and teachers from across the district; visit beachinstitute.org for more details. − Brandy Simpkins 13
BLACK HISTORY
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
Savannah’s recently restored First African Baptist Church. PHOTO BY NICK ROBERTSON
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FIRST AFRICAN BAPTIST CHURCH
BY THE LIGHT of lanterns and the moon, many of Savannah’s enslaved Black residents toiled night after night to build the First African Baptist Church on Franklin Square during what little free time they had. They completed the sanctuary in 1859, and today this hallowed house of worship is one of Savannah’s primary landmarks of African-American history. A Georgia Historical Society plaque stands before the First African Baptist Church – which is now freshly refurbished after a comprehensive restoration project was completed here in January of 2020 – honoring the building’s key role in Savannah’s saga from before the Civil War to modern times. According to Rev. Thurmond Neill Tillman, serving since 1982 as the 17th pastor of the church, the congregation was first organized in 1773 under the leadership of
Rev. George Leile and later Rev. Andrew Bryan, sharing roots with the nearby First Bryan Baptist Church. Rev. Andrew C. Marshall, the third pastor of the church who organized the first Black Sunday School in North America here, led the movement to obtain the Franklin Square property where the First African Baptist Church now stands. The enslaved people who built the church purchased materials for it at great sacrifice to their own financial status, Tillman said, although he believes providence rewarded them soon afterwards. “They took the money that they had earned, money that they saved up that they could’ve used to purchase their freedom, or the purchase of their family members, and instead used it to build a sanctuary,” Tillman said, adding that the church was dedicated in 1861. “Less than two years later, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” Traces of the builders’ heritage are still visible within the church, according to Tillman. “The building has many, many African signs and symbols,” Tillman noted, citing examples such as writings inscribed on some of the balcony’s original pews in West African Arabic script, and holes in the floor of a lower level shaped in an African prayer symbol known as a BaKongo cosmogram. The church served as an important gathering place for Savannah’s Black community throughout the Reconstruction era, and in the late 1800s its sixth pastor, Rev. Emanuel King Love, was instrumental in establishing Savannah State University, according to the historical plaque. Another notable pastor here was Rev. Dr. Ralph Mark Gilbert, a prominent leader in reviving Savannah’s NAACP branch in the 1940s and a mentor for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Tillman said. Nowadays, Savannah’s Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum is named in the pastor’s honor. “Dr. Gilbert was a little ahead of his time,” Tillman said, adding that Gilbert played a key role in the hiring of Savannah’s first nine Black police officers. “He was far ahead when it came to race relations.” During Savannah’s civil-rights protests in the early 1960s, the church served as a staging ground where activists could gather before participating in sit-ins and other demonstrations. Having filled the role of First African Baptist Church pastor for almost four decades, Tillman is well aware of the building’s significance to Black history nationwide. With an eye to preserving this landmark for generations to come, he oversaw its recent $650,000 restoration project. “The bell tower was basically deteriorating, and we would’ve had major damage if that heavy bell had come crashing through the floor,” Tillman said. The congregation had to take out a loan to fund this restoration, and in 2020 the church lost considerable revenue when the pandemic forced a temporary discontinuation of building tours. However, Tillman believes that any hardships that the First African Baptist Church is currently enduring will be overcome by faith, just like for the congregants’ enslaved predecessors who constructed the building by moonlight. “They were able to make sacrifices. They would pull together as a community,” Tillman said, adding that anyone who would like to help the restoration effort can visit firstafricanbc.com to contribute. “The building became a symbol of not just the struggle, but the victory.” − Nick Robertson
BLACK HISTORY
The historical plaque commemorating Savannah’s civil rights protests at the entrance to the former Levy’s department store. PHOTO BY NICK ROBERTSON
SITE OF THE SAVANNAH CIVIL RIGHTS PROTEST MOVEMENT plethora of undesired outcomes. “We were prepared, knowing that many things could happen, including getting spat on which we often did,” said Lockett. “We remember many times in the late evenings there were people standing downtown and in the midtown area on the sidewalks or on their porches with shotguns in their hands. There were groups trying to intimidate us, calling us out our names, calling us the n-word.” Lockett said that he and other youths were led by African-American leaders W.W. Law, Eugene Gadsden, and other senior NAACP members. They were taught that participating in non-violent protests would be the most powerful type of demonstration, and that they must maintain their peacefulness. “If you didn’t think you could do that, you couldn’t march with us,” Lockett said. The wording on the plaque recollects that on March 16, 1960, three students who were staging a sit-in − Carolyn Quilloin, Ernest Robinson, and Joan Tyson − were arrested in the Azalea Room, a Levy’s dining area. As a result, Law, Gadsden, and Hosea Williams organized a near-total boycott of city businesses and led voter-registration drives that helped elect a moderate city government led by Mayor Malcolm Maclean. Lockett said that
Maclean was instrumental in working toward desegregating the city. The sit-ins were continuous until October 1961, when Savannah repealed its ordinance requiring segregated lunch counters. The boycott continued until all targeted establishments were desegregated in October of 1963. Savannah was desegregated “even ahead of Atlanta,” Lockett said with pride. Savannah’s desegregation occurred eight months prior to the nationwide desegregation ordered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Following desegregation, according to Lockett, an affirmative-action plan was established between Law and downtown business owners, with Law helping the formerly segregated establishments to find Black employees. Levy’s was the first department store downtown to integrate its staff. “At that time, my wife, Betty Lockett, was the first person of color to work at Levy’s,” Lockett recalls. In 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr. declared Savannah the most desegregated city south of the Mason-Dixon Line, according to the plaque. Savannah desegregated because “we had good citizens on both sides, Black and white, that were willing to sit down and talk, and work it out peacefully,” said Lockett. − Brandy Simpkins 15
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
NOTHING BUT their own willpower invited Blacks into the “whites-only” establishments of the Jim Crow-era South, yet that was enough. At the corner of Broughton and Abercorn Streets, a Georgia Historical Society plaque is mounted in front of the former Levy’s department store – which now houses SCAD’s Jen Library, with the original department-store façade preserved – commemorating the Black students who, led by the NAACP Youth Council, staged sit-ins at white-only lunch counters in downtown stores in the early 1960s. Chatham County Commissioner Bobby Lockett was a freshman in college during these civil-rights demonstrations, and he recalls his experience as a participant in the non-violent fight for equality. “The sit-ins back in the ’60s were two-fold as far as how you felt: you felt somewhat reluctant because you realized you were at risk, but by the same token, you realized that somebody had to do it,” said Lockett. “We were young enough, we were aggressive enough to realize that we needed to take a stand for what was right for our community and our country. That’s what the sit-ins were all about.” Students were aware that challenging the stubborn unwritten laws of the segregated South could lead to a
CULTURE
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
STATE OF DISPLAY A new exhibit at Savannah’s Telfair Academy examines the outdated origins of museums BY DJ HELLERMAN
MUSEUMS WERE intended to be centers for learning and spaces to educate the public. Our current understanding and approach to these institutions grew from a human impulse to collect, categorize, and understand. To make meaning. But as Savannah’s new Progressive Regression: Examination of a 19th Century Museum exhibition makes clear, museums are intimately connected with imperial enterprises and colonial attitudes, especially concerning private property, collections, ownership, and access. This problematic ethical and moral territory is the basis for the cultural reckoning happening in museums throughout the United States as they rethink their 16 relevance, particularly in relation to underrepresented communities.
Progressive Regression opened at the Telfair Academy in January to offer visitors an intimate case study of the history, philosophy, founding ideals, and contemporary purpose of Western historical museums. The exhibition is refreshingly self-reflective in sharing its history, openly asking vital questions, and inviting the public into a dialogue about our shared responsibility for the cultural institutions of the future. Exhibit organizer Shannon Browning-Mullis, Telfair’s former curator of History and Decorative Arts who is currently serving as executive director at the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, explains, “I’m a firm believer in the need to understand the past to inform decisions about the future. It inspired me to question the founding of museums.” For anyone unfamiliar with the history of Savannah’s Telfair Academy, the museum was founded in 1875 upon the death of Mary Telfair. The Telfair Academy of Arts & Sciences was the first U.S. museum founded by a woman, and the first public museum in the Southeastern region of the United States. Progressive Regression uses the Telfair’s own history of collecting as the organizing principle. Thematic groupings in the exhibition show how the Telfair’s collection has been shaped by its geographic location; the values, interests, and priorities of its founder, trustees, employees, and volunteers; as well as the public it serves. The exhibition itself is exciting in its ability to make big, challenging ideas tangible, oddly familiar, and personal. From a monumental 22-foot-long Bryde’s whale skeleton to a playful and puzzling 19th-century marble sculpture of a boy with dogs by British sculptor Joseph Gott, and Egyptian textile fragments from the Hilton Collection, the eclectic
VISUAL ARTS
LEFT: The 22-foot-long Bryde’s whale skeleton displayed in the recently opened ‘Progressive Regression’ exhibit at Telfair Academy. ABOVE AND RIGHT: Varied artworks from around the world highlight outdated approaches to presenting cultural treasures. PHOTOS
range of intentionally selected objects drives the exhibition’s aim to encourage visitors to think beyond traditional categories of a museum, allowing for new pathways of understanding about the world we live in. As discussions continue about the future of museums and how they connect with the communities they serve, museums are evaluating their institutional structure and ways of working. Browning-Mullis anticipates a less hierarchical and siloed future. “I think there will be more room for shared decision making and perhaps a place for co-curating between art historians/historians and the public,” Browning-Mullis said. “Increasingly, we are understanding that the traditional written sources are important but flawed. They need to be balanced with oral history and
community-based knowledge.” Museums can be thought of as slowmoving, change-averse repositories. Depending upon the specific institution, that may or may not be true. Progressive Regression makes clear that, regardless of how quickly they move, museums are institutions comprised of human beings responsible for its values and relevance within a community. Browning-Mullis is optimistic that more people will become involved. “I hope visitors come away from the exhibition imagining how we can change museums in the future. I hope they question the museum’s role in their community and their own role in the museum,” Browning-Mullis said. This exhibit offers an inviting, open door to the process of realizing such a vision. cs Progressive Regression: Examination of a 19th Century Museum is ongoing at Telfair Academy (121 Barnard Street, Savannah). On Feb. 25 at 6 p.m., Telfair will host a free opening reception and virtual lecture by Shannon Browning-Mullis via Zoom. Visit telfair.org for more details.
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COURTESY OF THE TELFAIR MUSEUMS
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There is nothing common about Common Thread
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
Savannah’s newest restaurant serves locally sourced cuisine with worldly flair
Common Thread chefs Brandon Carter and John Benhase. PHOTO BY JOHN PARK
EPICUROPEDIA Chef John Benhase. They both have their own culinary perspectives, and together they have created something extraordinary. FOOD IS THE thread that connects us Chef Carter draws influence from his all − no matter the language, background, Southern roots, with some flavors of Italy or origin of each person. Sharing a meal or since its distinctive cuisine first drew breaking bread is the simplest way to share him to cooking. Chef Benhase focuses on culture and heritage. No matter where you seafood, Israeli cuisine, and African food. are in the world, the dinner table is a comBy working together, bringing their own munal space that binds anyone who sits unique sensibilities, and hashing through at it. each menu item, the result is a collaboraCommon Thread, Savannah’s longtive menu that is fully balanced yet unique. awaited new culinary haven, was built Both culinary experts were gracious with this idea in mind − to support and enough to take a few minutes out of their connect locals. Local diners, local farms, bustling opening week to sing the melodies local fisherman, local procurers, and local of their menu to me. One thing was clear chefs. In the last week of January, Com− they have put their hearts into the resmon Thread officially opened its doors taurant and selection. When you ask a chef and is bringing exemplary farm-focused what dish stands out, and they answer “I food to our city’s growing epicurean array. love them all,” you know the meal is going There is nothing common about Comto be delicious. mon Thread. It is one of those restaurants Vertu Farms, Russo’s Seafood, and Bootthat will define Savannah’s culinary scene leg Farms are just some of the many local for the future and will leave its stamp of purveyors that supply the ingredients for greatness. this new farmer-focused venue. Common FARM Bluffton is the sister restaurant Thread is partnered with Grow Food Caroto Common Thread, and shares some of lina, a nonprofit distribution organizathe same ideas regarding the kitchen’s tion for small farmers and growers in the approach to food. Housed within a beautiLowcountry. ful Victorian home that previously oper“They source from 30 farms. They send ated as an antique store, the team behind us a list of what farm has what. It is a great Common Thread knew they wanted to way for little farms that just make yogurt bring something different to Savannah. or just have pecans, can send their invenAlthough the much-awaited restaurant tory to Grow Food Carolina and they have took time, especially in light of the panthe means to distribute it,” Chef Benhase demic, the massive undertaking would not explained. have happened without the expert staff The opening menu will change as the that supports the kitchen. season and availability of ingredients Executive Chef Brandon Carter, who change. Benhase elaborated, “That is how previously served as Executive Chef of we cook too. We don’t call farmers and say FARM, was first on the team. do you have ‘this’ − we see what they have “We wanted to have the same sensiand build our menu off what the best thing bilities that we have at FARM, in regard is.” to how we prepare our food, and source After speaking with both chefs, I was locally, and source seasonally, and things inspired to eat my way through the menu. like that. We wanted You will not find sections of Common Thread’s beef tartare. to make sure that starters, salads, and mains we did not lose that. PHOTO BY JOHN PARK − for good reason. From top That is part of the to bottom the menu runs reason behind the from light to rich; but more name Common importantly you can close Thread,” Chef your eyes, randomly Carter told select any dish, and me. experience food As the that is as delidoors cious as your became first and last closer to plate. opening, “We don’t Chef Carter have... ‘here brought on a are your well-known appetizand estabers, here lished local are your foodsmith, entrees.’ It Co-Executive is more of a BY LINDY MOODY
Featuring
Experience an exclusive taste of Ardsley Station! Join us for an exciting night of community, fun, food and drink. Featuring a 3-part appetizer and drink tasting, prepared live.
Also featuring live music, photo opportunities, merchandise for purchase.
$35 PER/PERSON
For more information or purchase tickets, contact Erica Baskin at erica@connectsavannah.com or at 912.721.4378 or 912-231-0250
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
The chef will share his process and inspiration along the way, allowing guests to be immersed in the delicious Ardsley Station menu.
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EPICUROPEDIA
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
progression. Forcing people into a tasting menu is not necessarily something that is approachable to everyone. We wanted to have the sensibility and structure of a tasting menu, but kind of a choose-yourown-adventure version of that,” Chef Benhase explained. At the top of the opening menu are oysters, smoked mackerel, and black bass; then the menu carries you through a labyrinth of luscious savory plates and ends with the star of the show, the 28-day in-house dry-aged prime-strip (Chef Benhase made it clear that the day count varies by cut). I am of the opinion that no matter what I recommend or no matter what you decide to order, you will love the dish. So instead of going over the entire menu, although I tried almost all of it, I am going to give you the dishes that everyone has told me they loved (including our server) and that for me were unforgettable. Benhase’s take is this: “For me, the dishes I get most excited about are the simplest ones that surprise people. The smoked mackerel, the collards, the octopus, these are dishes that are three or four ingredients. They are really simple on paper, but layerwise people are like, ‘I did not know this could happen.’” The Marinated Leeks is one of those dishes that you will remember about your meal for years to come. Simply put, I have never eaten leeks that tasted this good. A heavy char is placed on the alliums. They are paired with breadcrumbs for crunch, spicy white anchovy, sherry vinegar, and white romesco. Mackerel is a fish that everyone throws back or chops up for chum. Many do not recognize the potential in the small white fish, but Common Thread does. A quick cold smoke is given to the delicate fish. Texture comes from the housemade ‘everything spice crunch’ that peppers the top. For the fat that balances the lean white fish, a creamy concoction of buttermilk, celery root, and labneh 20 (yogurt) sits as a base. After this week, I
Tasteful scenes beckon diners at the recently opened Common Thread restaurant. PHOTOS BY JOHN PARK
expect to see more mackerel-forward dishes on menus across town. The Gnudi is the dish recommended by almost everyone I spoke to about Common Thread. “What is gnudi?” you may be asking. I am here to tell you, gnudi are little pillows of ricotta that taste as though they descended from heaven. If God slept on a pillow, it would be made of these little bites of joy. Similar to gnocchi, gnudi is made with cheese in lieu of starch, and the result is a delicate dumpling of delight. It is yet another simple dish, layered only with garlic, basil, cauliflower, pecorino cheese, and breadcrumbs, but it tastes anything but simple. You must order the shrimp. No, this is not shrimp and grits, as has been done tenfold in our town. This is Common Thread’s take on shrimp and grits, which will likely make you forsake the old ways of gloopy grits topped with overseasoned shrimp. This dish is comprised of shrimp and collard greens. Tender and complexly flavored
collard greens sit as the base of this dish, and are finished with the best shrimp in the world − sweet Georgia coastal shrimp, which are surprisingly hard to find in Savannah restaurants. The collards are inspired by multiple cultures: West African, American South, and Peruvian. You will take a bite and instantly wonder what ingredient it is that you can’t quite place. It’s the peanut sauce that is layered with fermented peppers. It is a dish that will make you forget your grandmother’s vinegar-coated collard greens. You will be glad that you experienced something you have eaten a thousand times in a completely new way. On their own the collards are vegan, as with many dishes at Common Thread. Whether you are vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian, you can still have a communal experience with your friends by eating most of the same dishes that are already
included on the menu. The chefs took the time to create a standalone menu just for that so guests do not have to order a couple of side dishes to make up a meal. I learned a lot just by talking with Chef Carter and Chef Benhase and eating their food. Chef Carter left me with this: “We might make our food look like this or we might use this ingredient, but it is all the same. Everybody has their rice-and-bean dish, everybody has the ham that they smoke, everybody has their style of bacon. The way that we use chilis might feel like one way in Korea and like another in Italy. It is anchovies in Italy and brine shrimp in Korea, but they do the same thing. They are giving you that same sensation. For me that is one of the most interesting things about the way we approach food. We make the world a little bit smaller. It is the Common Thread.” cs
Common Thread: 122 E. 37th Street, Savannah. See commonthreadsavannah. com to learn more, and visit epicuropedia. com to read more by Lindy Moody.
THE BAND PAGE
ERIC BRITT @ THE 5 SPOT
After earning considerable acclaim for his latest album released last summer (Full Circle), Eric Britt is treating Savannah audiences to live performances at intimate venues where his lush soundscapes of folk-tinged tunes can resonate fully. Hear the founder of Hazel Virtue perform new songs like “Atonement” and “Let’s Go to the Woods Jimmy.” SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6 | 7 P.M.
PURPLE MADNESS @ COACH’S CORNER
VOODOO SOUP @ HUC-A-POO’S
Living-legend bass player Eric Moore leads this gregariously grooving outfit playing funk, jazz, soul, and classic rock. Feel the band’s warm rhythms ease your everyday cares away while enjoying VooDoo Soup’s tight instrumental mastery and Moore’s versatile vocals during this show at one of Tybee Island’s most beloved hangouts. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6 | 10 P.M.
LYN AVENUE @ PLANT RIVERSIDE
Married Savannah natives CC Witt and Patrick Ellington blend elements of Americana, folk, and classic-country music to create the boot-stomping sound of Lyn Avenue. Hear original songs by this fun-loving duo − including “Hurricane Bride” and “Sophisticated” − performed with a healthy helping of genuine Southern twang. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5 | 7 P.M.
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
Prince lives on to help Savannah sports fans go crazy during the kickoff of Coach’s annual Superfest celebration, spanning the entire Super Bowl weekend. On Friday night see premier Prince tribute band Purple Madness party like it’s 1999, followed by The Petty Hearts on Saturday, before Jason, Keith & Ross play on Sunday game day. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5 | 7 P.M.
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MUSIC
FEATURE
SING FOR THE MOMENT The Savannah-based American Traditions Competition carries on with virtual vocal performances
talent. And by the time spent by each singer preparing all of their music and their performance. It’s really remarkable what these musicians have done,” SoderWHILE THE Savannah-based American gren said, adding that the virtual format Traditions Competition of talented singers does not detract from the vocalists’ audible cannot welcome live audiences this year impact. “While many of us are tired of due to the pandemic, the show goes on with virtual events, these singers are not simvirtual performances by the flourishing ply performing in front of their cameras, contestants and they are actively renowned judges competing for alike. one of the largest The 28th financial prizes in annual ATC vocal American vocal extravaganza feacompetitions.” tures 28 singers, This year’s including three judging panel feaquarterfinalists tures Grammyfrom Savannah: winning jazz Jessica Fishartist Kurt enfeld, Isabelle Elling, Broadway Ham, and Trevor star Kate BaldMartin. The ATC A scene from the 2020 American Traditions win, and operatic Competition. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ATC performances tenor Laurence will be broadcast Brownlee. On online at 7 p.m. every evening of the comFeb. 16, the ATC’s traditional Judge’s Conpetition spanning Feb. 9-19, with quartercert will present performances by all three final rounds slated for Feb. 9-12, semifinal of these renowned musicians, along with rounds happening on Feb. 17 and 18, and exclusive interviews with each of them. the final round on Feb. 19. “This year, the judging panel is extra The first-place winner will receive a incredible, which is the silver lining to the $12,000 cash prize and be honored with pandemic,” says Sodergren. a paid solo performance with the SavanAnyone who wants to watch the ATC nah Philharmonic Orchestra, while other events can buy tickets for $50 per houseprizes include the Johnny Mercer award hold, which include access to livestream for the best performance of a Mercer song, broadcasts of all performances as well as the Ben Tucker Jazz Award for the best the option to watch recorded shows online jazz performance, and the Sherrill Milnes anytime through Feb. 28. Additionally, a Opera Award for the best American aria. 30-minute version of the final round will For ATC Artistic Director and 2014 com- be screened by Savannah’s local NBC affilipetition winner Mikki Sodergren, it was ate, WSAV-TV, at noon on Feb. 20. very important to carry on this showcase The ATC was previously a part of the for emerging talents despite the limitaSavannah Music Festival before branching tions presented by COVID-19. off in 2011 as an independent entity. “It was heartening to give the artists the “It’s been a great joy to work alongside hope of something to compete in. It felt this organization. This is one of the origireally validating to us as an organization nal singing competitions in the country, that we, against all odds, held the competi- and definitely the only singing competition this year,” Sodergren said. tion of its kind,” concludes Sodergren. All contestants prepared their competi- “Although we were unable to hold our tion materials at home this year, recording competition live and in person, like so nine songs from various genres of Amerimany events in this very strange year, we can music in one take. The nonprofit ATC are committed to honoring and preserving organization provided items to singers American music.” cs who needed equipment for recording to Visit americantraditionscompetition.com for ensure fairness among contestants. more details and to purchase tickets. “The judges are blown away by the
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
BY NICOLE YOUNGBLUT
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CONNECT SAVANNAH MUSIC
3-9
SOUNDBOARD
WHO IS PLAYING WHERE THIS WEEK
SOUNDBOARD IS A FREE SERVICE. TO BE INCLUDED, PLEASE SEND YOUR LIVE MUSIC INFORMATION WEEKLY TO SOUNDBOARD@CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM. DEADLINE IS 10 A.M. MONDAY, TO APPEAR IN WEDNESDAY’S EDITION. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT OR CUT LISTINGS DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS. Victory North STRFKR, 8 p.m.
Driftaway Cafe Chuck Courtenay, 6 p.m. Nickie’s 1971 Ray Tomasino, 7 p.m. The Wormhole Open Jam, 9 p.m.
McDonough’s Family Fued, 7 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC
TRIVIA & GAMES
El-Rocko Lounge Trivia with Jules and Chris Grimmett, 9-11:30 p.m. Service Brewing Company Trivia Night with Daniel, 6:30 p.m.
KARAOKE
Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m. Wet Willie’s Karaoke, 9 p.m.
COMEDY
Totally Awesome Bar Savannah Comedy Underground, 9 p.m.
TRIVIA & GAMES KARAOKE
Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m. McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m. Nickie’s 1971 Karaoke Night The Wormhole Karaoke, 9 p.m.
COMEDY
Totally Awesome Bar Open Mic Comedy, 8:30 p.m.
DJ
Club 51 Degrees DJ B-Rad, 9 p.m. Top Deck Sunset Deck Party, 6 p.m. VICE Lounge + Mojito Bar Latin Night with DL Cesar, first Thursday of every month, 9 p.m.
THURSDAY 2. 4
FRIDAY 2. 5
Cohen’s Retreat Munchies & Music, 5-9 p.m.
Barrelhouse South Backyard Loveseat, 9 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC
LIVE MUSIC
Clarion Suites and Conference Center TrapxCanvas, 7:30 p.m. Jazz’d Tapas Bar Ray Lundy, 8:30 p.m. Molly McGuire’s Hunter Price, 6-9 p.m. Rancho Alegre JodyJazz Trio, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Service Brewing Company Bluegrass By The Pint w/ Swamptooth, 6 p.m. Wild Wing Cafe Bucky & Barry, 7 p.m.
TRIVIA & GAMES
PS Tavern Beer Pong Tournament, 10 p.m. World of Beer Music Bingo, 8 p.m.
KARAOKE
Bay Street Blues Karaoke Blueberry Hill Karaoke, 9 p.m.3 a.m. Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m. McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m. Nickie’s 1971 Karaoke Night, 9 p.m. Totally Awesome Bar Karaoke, 10 p.m.
SUNDAY 2. 7
DJ
Club 51 Degrees DJ Fer, DJ Emalo, DJ Lil G, DJ BRad, 9 p.m. VICE Lounge + Mojito Bar DJ Primal, 9 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC
SATURDAY 2. 6 LIVE MUSIC
The 5 Spot Eric Britt, 7 p.m. Barrelhouse South Neutral Snap, 9 p.m. Jazz’d Tapas Bar Jawan & Nico, 8:30 p.m. Molly McGuire’s Jason Courtenay, 6-9 p.m. Rancho Alegre JodyJazz Trio, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Wild Wing Cafe The Mandrakes, 1 p.m.; Jason Bible, 7 p.m.
KARAOKE
Bay Street Blues Karaoke Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m. McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m. Totally Awesome Bar Karaoke, 10 p.m.
Collins Quarter at Forsyth Live Music, 3 p.m. Congress Street Social Club VooDoo Soup, 10 p.m. Flashback 4 Olay, 8 p.m. Nickie’s 1971 Roy Swindell, 7 p.m. Starland Yard Voodoo Soup, 6 p.m. Tubby’s Tank House (Thunderbolt) Bucky & Barry, 1 p.m. Wild Wing Cafe Andrew Gill, 1 p.m.
TRIVIA & GAMES
Moon River Brewing Co. Trivia, 6 p.m.
KARAOKE
Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m. McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m.
MONDAY 2. 8 LIVE MUSIC
Nickie’s 1971 Ray Tomasino, 7 p.m.
TRIVIA & GAMES
Club One Super Gay Bingo, 5:30 p.m.
KARAOKE
Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m. Wet Willie’s Karaoke, 9 p.m.
BAR & CLUB EVENTS Fia Rua Irish Pub Family Movie Night, 8 p.m.
TUESDAY 2. 9 LIVE MUSIC
Nickie’s 1971 Roy Swindell, 7 p.m.
TRIVIA & GAMES
Basil’s Pizza and Deli Trivia, 7 p.m. Fia Rua Irish Pub Trivia, 7:30 p.m. Oak 36 Bar + Kitchen Trivia Tuesday, 9 p.m. Starland Yard Trivia with Chris Grimmett, 6:30 p.m.
KARAOKE
Blueberry Hill Karaoke, 9 p.m.3 a.m. Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m.
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CULTURE
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Bryan Cranston, Javicia Leslie, and Chrissy Metz. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SCAD
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
SCAD’s annual aTVfest brings big stars to a small screen near you BY LAUREN WOLVERTON lauren@connectsavannah.com
DURING FEBRUARY’S first weekend, television fans all over the world can bring their favorite stars right into their living rooms thanks to the Savannah College of Art and Design. The ninth-annual SCAD aTVfest celebrates all things television and streaming during Feb. 4-6 this year. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the event will be 24 held virtually, but organizers say this will
make it better than ever. Andra Reeve-Rabb is the dean of SCAD’s School of Entertainment Arts, and says the college “hasn’t missed a beat” in adjusting to the remote-access world we’re living in. In fact, she says the virtual format will actually allow SCAD aTVfest to reach a broader audience than any previous year. “There are no limits of who can come and who can see,” Reeve-Rabb said. “There are no boundaries really.” The event typically gives attendees exclusive access to screenings and panels with television stars, directors, costume
designers, producers, and more. ReeveRabb says that even though attendees won’t be in the same room with the stars and industry professionals this year, the event will still feel exclusive and now have an intimate, personal feel to it as well. Reeve-Rabb adds that the stars will give attendees a look into their personal spaces, their homes, and their offices rather than a red carpet or a stage. “It’s not like the stars are off doing something else,” she said. “They’re right at home like we are.” For SCAD students, the aTVfest doesn’t
just bring the stars of their favorite Netflix shows to town, it also brings tremendous opportunities. Reeve-Rabb says the festival is “a bridge” for students to the entertainment industry. Each year, she says, industry professionals interact with SCAD students and end up hiring some of them down the road. Reeve-Rabb says her favorite part of aTVfest every year is the alumni panel discussion, because she gets to see SCAD graduates share their knowledge with current students. “That’s full circle,” she said. “That’s
TELEVISION our students who Lovecraft Country were once sitting in star Jurnee Smollett these seats, listenwith receive the Dising to these stars, tinguished Perfornow they’re out mance Award. there doing this. It The lineup also gives me chills every includes a wide time.” variety of screenCelebrity panels ings, guest interalso give students views, and panel inspiration, Reevediscussions, such as Rabb says. During a screening of BatSCAD aTVfest, stuwoman with actor dents have opporJavicia Leslie and tunities to ask show writer and questions and get to executive producer know panelists, even Caroline Dries. virtually. She says A screening of FROM LEFT: Cynthia Erivo and Laurence Fishburne. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SCAD it humanizes some Everything’s Gonna of their biggest idols Be Okay features and helps students everyone, whether or not they’re involved actors Kayla Cromer, realize they can reach the same level of in SCAD and the entertainment industry. Adam Faison, and Maeve Press, while success one day. “Everybody loves television, everyone “-Ish” Happens is a conversation with the “It’s such a cool thing that SCAD does, watches TV,” Reeve-Rabb said, calling tele- stars of Black-ish, Grown-ish, and Mixedto bring all these industry professionals vision a “universal language.” ish., and the In Conversation panel series and let us actually − instead of just readA major event at this year’s festival will features actor Cynthia Erivo and singer/ ing books − actually talk to people who are be the presentation of the SCAD Lifecomposer Linda Perry. cs actually out there, making their dreams time Achievement Award to Laurence come true,” said Aleena Bashir, sophomore Fishburne, while Bryan Cranston will Visit atvfest.com to purchase SCAD aTVfest performing arts student. receive the Icon Award, Chrissy Metz tickets and see a complete lineup of guests, The SCAD aTVfest has something for will receive the Vanguard Award, and screenings and panels.
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JONESIN’ CROSSWORD BY MATT JONES ©2021
“START TO CHANGE” -- OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW.
LIMITED SEATING INSIDE CROSSWORD ANSWERS
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION PRESENTS THE
Virtual Norman Fries Distinguished Lectureship Series Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Educating Past Pandemic
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
Gloria Ladson-Billings, Ph.D.
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PEDAGOGICAL THEORIST, TEACHER EDUCATOR, AUTHOR
Monday, February 8 7 p.m. Join the virtual lecture via Zoom at GeorgiaSouthern.edu/Fries
ACROSS
1 Door frame component 5 Roadside digital display? 10 “Doubtful” 14 Laos’s locale 15 Concrete strengthener 16 “Scream” actress Campbell 17 “Bring on the carillons”? 19 James of “The Godfather” 20 Actress Keanan of “My Two Dads” 21 English actor McKellen, when traveling? 23 The NBA’s Thunder, on scoreboards 25 Rising and falling periodically 26 Pink Floyd box set released in 1992 30 “___ Rae” (Sally Field movie) 34 Actor Danza 35 Service group for GIs 37 “Yup” 38 Before, in verse 39 Dish set with a double helix pattern? 41 Partnering word 42 Liveliness 44 Pen end 45 Otherwise 46 Fix the names attached to the picture? 47 Burma, today 49 “___ something I said?” 53 Healing spring 54 Descriptor for about
79% of a certain group of Dalmatians? 58 Actress Cornish of “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” 62 Berry that’s not so exotic since it’s seemingly in everything 63 Prank where a link leads to a video of “Unforgettable”? 65 ___ packing (oust) 66 “A League of ___ Own” 67 City in northern Nevada 68 Barely beat (out) 69 Alex of “Taskmaster” who’s releasing new #Hometasking challenges during the pandemic 70 Much-needed partner of relaxation
DOWN
1 Vaccine shots, in the U.K. 2 “I’d hate to break up ___” 3 Kunis of “Black Swan” 4 Theater level 5 Three, in Italian 6 Prefix before sphere 7 Undersea WWII threat 8 Movie soundtrack singer Nixon 9 Ciabatta, e.g. 10 Like most modern movies 11 Actor Bridges 12 “Dear ___ Hansen” 13 Care for 18 Karaoke night need
22 Major kitchen appliance 24 Tally 26 Take the wheel 27 Mister Ed, for one 28 Blundering 29 Cryptanalysis org. 31 Royal domain 32 Group of geniuses, supposedly (I mean, what is this trying to prove?) 33 Snake with a puff variety 36 Pay for completely 37 “We Have the Meats” chain 39 Probe persistently 40 Dart thrower’s asset 43 Chew toy material 45 One who shouldn’t be helping 48 “Be ___!” (“C’mon, help me out!”) 50 New wave instrument, for short 51 Pocatello’s state 52 Luggage lugger 54 Move with care 55 Secured 56 The Sugarhill ___ 57 Happy reaction 59 Bitter humor 60 Stamp pad fillers 61 Quadruple awards honor, for short 64 Mine extraction
by Bunny Ware
PHOTOS FROM LOCAL EVENTS View more photos online at connectsavannah.com/connected
TOURISM LEADERSHIP COUNCIL HOSTS DR. LAWTON DAVIS
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
Varied local leaders and community members gathered for a Tourism Leadership Council event at the Savannah Convention Center on Jan. 22, featuring a presentation by Dr. Lawton Davis, the Coastal Health District’s public-health director. Davis has served as the region’s most prominent medical expert providing guidance on how to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
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by Bunny Ware
PHOTOS FROM LOCAL EVENTS View more photos online at connectsavannah.com/connected
STEP ONE AUTO GROUP HOSTS FIRST RESPONDERS, VETERANS, AND HEALTHCARE WORKERS
CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 3 - 9, 2021
On Jan. 26, the Step One Automotive Group once again offered grab-and-go meals for police, firefighters, veterans, and healthcare employees. The first responders and other local heroes enjoyed food-truck feasts thanks to Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM South Savannah, where a midday party atmosphere provided a welcome break for all.
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