Savannah unveils slavery monument after decade of delays

SAVANNAH - On the cobblestone riverfront where the first slaves arrived in Georgia, Savannah unveiled a bronze and granite monument to black Americans Saturday after a decade of delays and debate. <br> <br> The monument, depicting a black family embracing with broken chains at its feet, is the first to honor blacks in a city that has erected statues of its white founders and Civil War heroes for nearly two centuries. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m glad we got it up. There were those who really wanted us to doubt it,&#39;&#39; said Abigail Jordan, a retired teacher who spent the last 10 years and $100,000 of her own savings to make the monument a reality. ``But miracles took place.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The most heated battle Jordan fought with city officials was over the monument&#39;s inscription a quotation by author Maya Angelou describing slaves ``in the holds of the slave ships in each others&#39; excrement and urine.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Mayor Floyd Adams and others worried that the quote was too graphic for a public monument, particularly on the riverfront where throngs of tourists stroll between oyster bars and souvenir shops. <br> <br> City officials approved the quotation in May after Angelou herself agreed to add a few uplifting words to end it. Now her words are engraved in bold letters on the monument&#39;s granite base. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s not offensive in any way,&#39;&#39; said Ian Campbell of Pittsburgh, a white college professor who paused to look at the monument with his wife, Jill. ``I don&#39;t think there&#39;s any doubt that it&#39;s an appropriate recognition of a very unfortunate period of history. I think it&#39;s brave.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Dow Harris of Savannah disagrees. He showed up at the dedication Saturday carrying a bright yellow sign that read ``Wipe the Excrement Off of Savannah&#39;s Monuments.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``This is inappropriate language to put on a public monument,&#39;&#39; said Harris, who is white. ``It&#39;s not a monument that is uplifting. A monument is supposed to be inspiring.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Among those who applauded the wording was Johnnie Simpson of Texas City, Texas, who said she, her granddaughter and a friend traveled by car to Savannah just to see the monument unveiled. <br> <br> ``We don&#39;t see many monuments and statues dedicated to us,&#39;&#39; said Simpson, a retried telephone company worker who is black. ``It feels like it&#39;s a big deal to me. How many times do you get this close to see something like this?&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The monument may be in place, but the work&#39;s far from over for Jordan, who shunned the spotlight Saturday to sit among about 300 people who sat through dedication speeches while fanning themselves in sweltering heat. <br> <br> Jordan said the monument&#39;s organizers still need to raise more than half the $500,000 required to pay for it. Though the city paid for the concrete foundations and seating around the monument, the rest must come from private funds. <br> <br> Volunteers walked the crowd carrying plastic buckets with ``HELP&#39;&#39; scrawled on the sides in black marker, stopping for people to cram $1 bills into a slot in the top. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m afraid to really look at the bills. I&#39;m afraid it&#39;s going to be more than we thought,&#39;&#39; Jordan said. ``It&#39;s as messy as messy can be.&#39;&#39;

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/7/191976