The New York Times has an article on why Savannah has become a pilgrimage site for those interested in Frederick Douglass, a man who never lived there. A trove of Douglass’s papers is on view there, brought to light by a private collector and historian David Blight. The city also has an art exhibit on the great advocate for Black equality. From the article:
Savannah is a pilgrimage site for Douglass researchers. The reason is a remarkable archive of letters, manuscripts, and other documents, by Douglass and by members of his family, in the possession of Walter O. Evans, a retired surgeon here and a major collector of African-American art and letters.
The trove sheds light on the later parts of Douglass’s life, and on his family, which he rarely mentioned in his speeches and writings. It has prompted a fresh wave of Douglass studies — not least Mr. Blight’s book, “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” which won a 2019 Pulitzer Prize, and which is dedicated in part to the collector and his wife.
This fall, the city has become a destination for cultural tourists on the Douglass trail. The museum of the Savannah College of Art and Design is hosting three concurrent and contemporary exhibitions that open up fresh interpretations of his impact. They show how primary sources can feed not only new scholarship, but also the imagination of artists and curators concerned with issues of the present day.
Here is more information on the exhibits.
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