Black History Month Celebration at Port Wentworth
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Promised Land Farms Booth
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Rodney Parker (Left) Willie “Uncle Bill” Johnson (Middle), and Robert “Uncle Bob” Johnson (Right).
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Javannah Rogers performing “Lift Every Voice & Sing.”
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Takeita Tollman (Left) at her booth, Takeita Tollman’s Boutique, alongside her daughter Hailey (Right), a children’s author.
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Christine Baker at her booth CKB’s Sparkle and Shine Jewels.
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Capt. Ronald Hendry (Left) and Lt Jessica Poundstone (Right).
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In the Weeping Time of March 1857, the largest sale of human beings in the history of the United States took place at a racetrack in Savannah, Georgia.
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Terresa Lake Executive Assistant to the City Manager.
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City Council Mayor Pro-Tem Barbee.
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Arletha Hill at her booth Love to Love-a NGO in Uganda that supports children with HIV.
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Dr. Amir Jamal Touré, host of the event.
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Julius Hall, President and CEO of Hello Savannah Magazine.
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Promised Land Farm Truck
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Port Wentworth held its inaugural black history event early Saturday morning.
The event was held at the City Hall, with a modest turnout. Event host Dr. Amir-Jamal Touré led the program with a lineup of speakers, including City Council Mayor Pro-Tem Barbee, Councilman Bright, Councilman Stephens and Council Woman Nelson. The council members gave a brief overview of the city’s history, emphasizing that since the city’s founding in 1733 and incorporation in 1957, there has never been a black history celebration.
Javanna Rogers, a 4th-year Theatre major at Georgia Southern, sang the black national anthem to much applause.
The event featured multiple vendors selling a variety of items. Most of which were black-owned. Promised Land Farm, a vendor at the event, is one of the few Black-owned farms in Chatham County, Georgia.
“My brother Billie Johnson and I spent our life growing collard greens along with similar crops; we came here today to have a good time and let people know that they’re not alone,” Robert Johnson, co-founder of Promised Land Farm said.
“I’m excited about it because it’s our first [Black History Celebration] it’s a long time coming; the city of Port Wentworth was founded in 1733, and the Constitution that the city was founded under said justice for all the United States of America,” City Council Mayor Pro-Tem Barbee said. “I’m happy that we have the opportunity to show that we can add to the stars and stripes of the flag.”
“I’m happy to see the city coming together to celebrate the greatness of African Americans,” Terresa Lake, Executive Assistant to the City Manager said. “We are already looking into doing our Junteenth celebration as well this year.”
“Doing an event that has never been held in this city ever before is surreal; this used to be a sundown city, and a sundown city means that if you didn’t live it, you had to be out of it by 6 p.m., especially if you’re black,” Julius Hall President and CEO of the Hello Savannah Magazine said.
Hall added that he’s especially proud to see what the city has come to, citing the city’s first African American police chief, a majority African American city council and the majority of the city’s population is African American as examples of the change.
For more information on the history of Port Wentworth, you can visit this link.
An award-winning senior Communications major from Atlanta, Georgia, Jabari is passionate about bringing diverse perspectives to the news. He has been with...
