2022 Weeping Time Commemoration
163rd Anniversary
Wednesday, March 2nd - Sunday, March 6th, 2022
On March 2 and 3, 1859, the largest slave sale in recorded American history took place at the former Ten Broeck horse racecourse in West Savannah, Georgia when 429 men, women, boys and girls from the Butler plantations near Darien and St. Simons Island, Georgia, were transported to Savannah and sold. The sale took two days during which time families were separated and scattered throughout the American south; many never saw each other again.
During the entire course of the sale, it rained torrentially in Savannah, stopping only after the last enslaved person had been sold. African Americans call this traumatic event The Weeping Time because, they say, God must have been weeping.
The general public is cordially invited to participate in the in-person celebrations!
Presented By:
Organization to Commemorate Enslaved African American Nationals, Inc.
Ivory Bay CDC
West Savannah Residents
Journey by Faith, Inc.
Georgia Historical Society
Otis J. Brock III Elementary School
Solomon Temple C.O.G.I.C.
Overcoming by Faith Church Ministries
Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission
WCLK 91.9: Clark-Atlanta University
Yahshua University Ministries
BHBP News
Sistagraphy
Lower Altamaha Historical Society
McIntosh County Historical Society
St. Simons African-American Heritage Coalition
Brunswick, Georgia African-American Cultural Center
Winsward Georgia
and others!
Itinerary
Wednesday, March 2nd
10:00am
Laying of the Wreath
Augusta Avenue Georgia Historical Society Marker
2503 Augusta Avenue | Savannah, Georgia 31401
Presenters: Dr. Kwesi DeGraft-Hanson, Ms. Jena Jones, & Servant Emmanu'el Branch
Friday, March 4th
6:00pm
Light Up Butler Island Plantation
436 Lights will be lit to commemorate those sold during The Weeping Time.
Presenters: Mother Eunice Moore & Missy Brandt Wilson
Outdoor Event! It is encouraged that you bring Bug Repellant.
Saturday, March 5th
10:00am
The Weeping Time Virtual Commemoration
1804 Stratford Street | Savannah, Georgia 31401
Sunday, March 8th
2:00pm
Sunday Worship Commemoration Service
St. Cyprians Church
401 Fort King George Drive, Darien, Georgia 31305
For more information, please contact Brenda Roberts at blynneroberts@yahoo.com or Elyse Butler at ebutler@georgiahistory.com today.