Georgia Historical Society

On the next day of the workshop, the summer scholars gathered at the Jepson Center for lecture and discussion led by Dr. Allison Dorsey and Dr. Jacqueline Jones. In preparation for the workshop, participants read Dr. Dorsey's article "The Great Cry of Our People is Land: Black Settlement and Community Development on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, 1865-1900" in African American Life in the Georgia Lowcountry: The Atlantic World and the Gullah Geechee and Jacqueline Jones's monograph Saving Savannah: The City and the Civil War.

From this page you can access the full recordings of Dr. Dorsey and Dr. Jones's lecture and discussion, and related primary sources. Click on the lecturer's name to jump to their lecture files, or click here to jump to related sources.

Dr. Allison Dorsey: "The Great Cry of Our People is Land"

Dr. Dorsey talked about the experience of African Americans in Coastal Georgia in the aftermath of the Civil War. Her lecuture provided a context for the site visit to Ossabaw Island. In her lecture, Dr. Dorsey discussed the process of researching and writing about the African - Americans who once called Ossabaw Island home. Dr. Dorsey told the story of Mustapha Shaw, a former slave on Ossabaw Island, and his family from just after the Civil War until today. In her lecture, Dr. Dorsey focused on the importance land ownership played in the struggle of African Americans to claim the benefits of emancipation after the Civil War. 

Dr. Dorsey's lecture is divided into approximately 15 minute audio segments. Click here to see a detailed breakdown of the content discussed in each segment.

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Dr. Jacqueline Jones: The Urban Experience 

Dr. Jones's lecture focused on the experience of African-Americans living in the city of Savannah before, during, and just after the Civil War. Dr. Jones's lecture also focused more intensly on the experience of African - American women in the Georgia Lowcountry than any of the lectures thus far. 

Dr. Jones's lecture is divided into approximately 15 minute audio segments. Click here to see a detailed breakdown of the content discussed in each segment.  

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Related Sources: 

African - American Woman Carrying Cotton Basket in Savannah, GA

William E. Wilson Collection, GHS Manuscript Collection, MS 1375 

  Two African - American Women Selling Goods in Savannah, GA

James S. Silva Family Papers, 1888 - 1953, GHS Manuscript Collection, MS 2126