Fayth Parks, PhD, Graduate School of Leadership and Change, recently participated in history-makers video recordings of Coalition to Name Susie King Taylor Square members in Savannah Georgia. After 170 years, the Savannah City Council voted to change the name of the square formerly named after John C. Calhoun who was an advocate for keeping slavery, a politician of the Antebellum era, and a former U.S. vice-president. The square was once a burial ground for hundreds of enslaved Africans. In 2021, The Susie King Taylor Center for Jubilee petitioned to change the name from Calhoun Square to Taylor Square. The square was renamed after a three-year battle in October 2023.
Susie King Taylor was a heroic figure in American history. Born into slavery, as a child, Taylor attended two African American secret schools. In April 1862, Susie was able to escape slavery at age 14 with her uncle. She lived with other formerly enslaved refugees on an island off the coast of Georgia near Savannah. During the Civil War, Taylor served as a nurse with the U.S. 33rd Colored Troops. After emancipation, Taylor opened schools in Savannah to educate African American children. In 1902, Susie King Taylor wrote an 82-page memoir that depicts her life as a slave, a Civil War nurse, an educator, and a Black woman living in the post-Civil War South.
On Saturday, June 29, Coalition members gathered at Trinity United Methodist Church in Savannah to record their reflections about the three-year fight to name Taylor Square. Parks, reflecting on the event, emphasized the importance of their work for future generations, stating, “Our stories, in our voices, will be a crucial resource for future generations, inspiring them to continue the legacy of social justice and advocacy for change at the grassroots level.” Parks serves on the board of directors for the Susie King Taylor Center for Jubilee.
Learn more about Parks and her extensive work.
