If you are visiting Savannah, Georgia taking the Indigo Journey walking tour with Karen Wortham is a must. You will get a wealth of information on history that isn’t really talked about. Good, bad, and ugly. The ugly stuff includes hanging and emasculating the Black man. It’s so heartbreaking that I don’t want to talk about it. I’ll let Ms. Karen tell you.
In 2018, my husband planned a day trip for us. This is not his norm. He told me we were going to do a tour. In my mind I’m thinking I’m going to be cute because it’s going to be a carriage ride. I put on my denim off the shoulder ruffled sleeve above the knee dress to prepare for the day. My husband asked, “Is that what you’re wearing”? So I’m now thinking this must not be a romantic carriage ride. Perhaps it’s an air conditioned motor coach tour. After all it’s Summer. LOL.
When we got to Savannah and parked there was a huge motor coach waiting. I thought that was our ride. Nope! We were walking. I had on comfortable walking shoes though.
Let’s Start Walking
The tour started on time. It was about 20 of us tourists. Primarily women and a few older kids. We met at Franklin Park. There we learned about the development of Savannah in its beginning from being inhabited by Indians, then by the Oglethorpe family. The pictures below includes the history of Haitian soldiers who fought for the US in the American Revolutionary War. Nearby by Franklin Park is the First African Baptist Church. It is the oldest Black church in North America. We would’ve went inside, but the church was having an event. I’ve been there once before. It’s definitely worth seeing.
While walking, we learned about so many intriguing stories like the Butler Plantation. The owner was a gambler and had to sell the majority of his slaves to make up for his losses. And should you know any Black people last name Butler throughout Georgia, more than likely they originated from Savannah.
Interracial Union
Another interesting story involves a Black woman and White businessman. Rachel Verdury was a slave. Mixed race. She was so fair skinned that she could pass for White. With her beauty wealthy businessman David Dillon had to have her. Dillon had her birth certificate changed so he could marry her. They never officially married, but had several kids together. Early on David had legally established for Rachel the children to be financially secure. I can’t recall the reason, but the tables turned and David didn’t want to be with Rachel anymore. He didn’t want to be financially obligated to her either. In 1877 they had a case Dillon vs. Dillon in court. Since interracial marriages weren’t allowed, David thought that Rachel being Black was enough for him to win. Well not so. He had to pay up.
Barracoon
In the photo above is where we visited a barracoon. I found this tour stop to be fascinating. At the time I was reading Barraccoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo by Zora Neale Hurston. It’s a book of the life of the last living African who was stolen from the coast of Africa and brought to Alabama to be a slave well after The Atlantic Slave Trade was no longer prohibited. A barracoon is like a dungeon. Cold and dark. Enslaved Africans were stored there as well as cotton. I felt a type of way being there. And as Ms. Karen said, many buildings that are now restaurants were barracoons. Sure enough when we got back to Charleston I was able to spot at least one.
End of Indigo Journey Walking Tour
We ended the tour at the Riverfront where the Georgia Queen riverboat was loading passengers. The entire walk was about 1 hour and 30 minutes long. It was very informative and fun. I kinda didn’t want it to end. It didn’t really seem that long. However, I was ready for a nice meal. Ms. Karen was so kind to us that she didn’t mind us calling her for food recommendations. Another thing she told us about was an indigo workshop that she attended. We ended up going in 2019. I wrote about that experience in the post Indigo Dying On Ossabaw Island.
If you are in Savannah for a weekend or a day trip, book this tour!! More info here or give Ms. Karen a call at 912-224-0973.
Additional Pics
