SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – The Coalition to Rename Calhoun Square has been at the forefront working to change the name of Calhoun Square for years. Later this month the group will finally see it on Savannah City Council’s agenda for a vote.
Friday, members of the coalition gathered in Whitefield Square to get people excited to support the effort.
John C. Calhoun was a slave holder and defender of slavery and members say he had no connection to Savannah. The coalition is working to rename the square after Susie King Taylor, the first black nurse and teacher of freed slaves in the nation. She was also born in Liberty County as an enslaved girl and came to Savannah at the age of seven.
The coalition says they’re excited that the city is moving forward with this, but they won’t officially celebrate until the vote is done. Friday, they also announced a campaign they’re running to further educate people on who she is and why the square should be named after her.
“She’s a United States heroine, a veteran, a teacher, an educator, and we want people to know her name. We’re rolling out a campaign called ‘Say Her Name: Susie King Taylor,’ so people will know that she’s honorable enough to be in that square,” said Patt Gunn, co-chair to rename Calhoun Square.
“For the school, for our parents, for our teaching staff, for the administration that works hard I think it really validates the work they do every day. Working in schools is tough, so I think that being able to say that we are named after a park, I think, is pretty phenomenal,” said Todd Pipkin, School Director at Susie King Taylor Community School.
The city council is expected to vote on whether or not to remove Calhoun’s name from the square during their Oct. 27 meeting.
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