African American History in Brunswick

Gullah Geechee Cultural Corridor

Brunswick is apart of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, which extends from the coast of New Hanover County, North Carolina to Duval County, Florida. The Gullah Geechee are survivors of the Middle Passage, brought to the Americas as enslaved Africans, captured primarily from rice-producing and indigo regions in Western Africa. In the United States, the Gullah Geechee lived in relative isolation on the sea islands and coastal Atlantic plains, allowing them to preserve much of their African traditions, arts, food crafts, and language, which have strongly influenced the American cultural fabric today.

• Language: Much of the Gullah Geechee language incorporates various African languages, pidgins, and dialects infused with various Old English dialects to form a unique language still spoken today. The Gullah Geechee language is often confused with Caribbean patois by non-native speakers, due to a common history, vocal tone, and speech pattern. 
  • One of the most common Gullah Geechee words used today is "Tote" meaning to carry, traditionally baskets carried on ones head. A tote now commonly refers to short-term and seasonal carrying bags.
  • One of the most common Gullah Geechee hymns is "Kumbaya" which translates to "Come by here." Although commonly misused as a campfire song, its original intent is a plea to God.

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  Food: Most Gullah Geechee cuisine is comprised of seafood due to the proximity to the Atlantic Coast as well as various stews or "gumbos." Numerous seasoning and food preparation techniques live on due to dozens of African ethnic groups sharing and combining their native culinary skill sets.

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  Arts: Two of the most common artistic forms used by the Gullah Geechee include Griots and Sweetgrass Basket Weaving.

  • Griots (or Story Tellers) not only told stories, but passed along traditions, folklore, and maintained the communities oral history.
  • Sweetgrass Baskets are not only beautifully crafted and hand-made baskets used for heavy-use toting, but an artistic tradition passed down from mother to daughter that survived the Middle Passage.

To learn more about Gullah Geechee cultural heritage, be sure to visit the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission.

The Roxy Theater

The Roxy Theater sits in the Brunswick Old Town Historic District at the corner of Albany and F Streets. The Roxy was built between 1940-49 and is among the older and historic African American theaters inventoried in the Georgia Historic Theaters Project.

Risley High / Colored Memorial School

Risley High was approved for by the City Commission on June 26, 1867, when Captain Douglas Gilbert Risley, Union Soldier and the district commander of the Freedmen’s Bureau office in Brunswick, requested the lease of five (5) lots for the purposes of education and worship. The original request included the construction of a church, which serves as a cultural epicenter in the Black community.

Early curriculum included:

• Orthography
• Reading
• Writing
• Arithmetic
• Geography
• English Grammar

A copy of the curriculum (1879) and Captain Risley's request for the creation of Risley High (1867) are being digitized and will appear in the "Supporting Documents" section below.

Selden Park / Normal School Headmasters House

This 35-acre public park was the site of The Selden Normal and Industrial Institute, considered one of the finest black educational facilities during the early 20th century. The school is named for Dr. Charles Selden, a missionary and philanthropist. Selden Institute opened in 1903, in cooperation with the Presbyterian Church, and provided intermediate education of black residents throughout the coastal area. The school closed its doors in 1933 when it merged with the Gillespie Normal School located in Cordele, GA. The headmaster's house is the last remaining evidence of the institute. This one-story wood frame bungalow has Craftsman style features, popular in Georgia between 1900 & 1930. It was rehabilitated in 2009 by the Glynn County Recreation department, and served as meeting space for the Coastal African American Historic Preservation Commission (CAAHPC).

Sexton Colored Cemetery / Greenwood Cemetery

On April 13th, 1870 a report was presented to the City Commission by the Cemetery Commission. The report called for a personal allotment of land for the purposes of burying the now free Black population. The recommendation included the creation of a Colored Cemetery Board of Commissioners, charged with overseeing the maintenance and operation of what was called "Sexton Colored Cemetery." The earliest known Commissioners included Moses Seven (b. 1803) Hosiah Sherman (b. 1830) Osborne Mason (b. 1840) and Jackson "Jackie" White (b. 1835) appointed shortly after the Cemetery Commission's recommendations were adopted. These men were among the first African Americans to be appointed by the City Commission for any role. Eventually, the City Commission moved to appointment one manager of the Sexton Colored Cemetery, with Jackie White continuing his role until his passing in the 1910s.

Greenwood Cemetery is a historically Black cemetery, established in 1911. Additional research is being conducted to confirm whether or not Sexton Colored Cemetery became Greenwood. Early records for the mention "expanding the cemetery" in reference to the Sexton Colored Cemetery. The original deed establishing Greenwood is available for viewing in the City Clerk's Office.

Dixville

The Dixville Historic District is significant in African American cultural heritage as the only known and intact, urban Black community in Brunswick developed by formerly  enslaved peoples. Dixville contains numerous resources that document residential patterns, and to a lesser extent, commercial and industrial development of Brunswick’s Black, working-class community from the late 19th century through the 1960s. Additionally, in the area of community planning and development, the district reflects land use patterns frequently associated with Georgia’s cities whereby Black and working-class settlements were relegated to under-utilized and low-cost land along the periphery of downtown.

The district is also significant in the area of architecture for its collection of residential  housing varieties that include shotguns, central hallway, gabled wing cottages/houses, Georgian cottages/houses, hall-parlor, and side-gabled cottages, as well as bungalows and ranch houses, popular in the late 19th to mid-20th century Georgia.

ARCO

The ARCO subdivision is made of working class cottages and bungalows developed in the 1930s and 1940s east of Newcastle street, opposite the nearby Atlantic Refining Company Plant for which it is named. According to the Glynn 2009 historic survey, the ARCO subdivision is largely intact and may be eligible for designation as a historic district.

First African Baptist of Brunswick

The First African Baptist Church was founded in 1863 by worshipers who were meeting in a grove off Lee Street, between Gloucester and F streets. The congregation built its church at 1416 Amherst Street in 1869.

St. Athanasius Episcopal Church

 St. Athanasius grew out of a community mission started in 1885 and by 1890, St. Athanasius was a self-sustaining parish led by Rev. J.J. Perry.

St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church

Built around 1922, showcasing architectural styling of the Gothic Revival, stands this nearly century-old church located at 1520 Wolfe Street in the Old Town District. 

St. Paul Baptist Church

The daughter church of First African Baptist of Brunswick, sits only 3 blocks outside the district’s northern boundary, showcasing a Gothic Revival edifice. St. Paul is located at 1929 Albany Street.