ATLANTA – State Representative Carl Gilliard (D-Savannah), Chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, today announced that the Georgia House of Representatives passed House Bill 1425, which would create the Weeping Time Cultural Heritage Corridor Authority. This authority would be tasked with preserving the memory and heritage of the Weeping Time and Weeping Time Corridor in Savannah, GA.
“I am grateful to my colleagues for joining me in sharing their support for creating this authority and remembrance of these dark days in our nation’s history,” said Rep. Gilliard. “In creating the Weeping Time Cultural Heritage Corridor Authority, we will continue to acknowledge and preserve the memory of the most heartbreaking and heinous times in our country’s history for slaves.”
The Weeping Time marks the dates of March 2 and 3, 1859, when Butler Island Plantation owners sold more than 400 enslaved Africans in Savannah, which was the largest sale of slaves in U.S. history. These slaves were separated from their families and scattered across the country to pay off a gambling debt and maintain the wealth of the Butler Island Plantation owners.
HB 1425 would create an authority of five members who would be appointed by the members of the Georgia Senate and House whose districts include all or part of Chatham County. Each member would serve a term of two years.
For more information on HB 1425, please click here.
Representative Carl Gilliard represents the citizens of District 162, which includes portions of Chatham County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016 and currently serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Economic Development and the Creative Arts & Entertainment, Insurance, Interstate Cooperation, Natural Resources & Environment, Reapportionment and Redistricting, State Properties and Transportation committees.
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