GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — A new historical marker is coming to Glynn County to honor the lives of a tribe from Africa who chose death over slavery in the early 1800s.
The push to commemorate the Igbo Landing Legacy came from a group of students at Glynn Academy. When Glynn Academy senior Rachel Walters heard the history of Igbo Landing, she brought the story to the academy’s Ethnology Club.
“When we found out that people Igbo landing had not been a historical marker, we knew that we wanted to do that. And we wanted to represent the community and just represent them," said Glynn Academy Ethnology Club President.
The story of the Igbo landing surrounds a group of Africans belonging to the Igbo Tribe who were brought to Georgia to be sold into slavery.
While aboard a ship on Dunbar Creek, the group revolted. Some of the tribe members drowned themselves in the water rather than go into a life of slavery.
The significance of the piece to Georgia’s history motivated Walters and her team. They felt;
“It's a sacred site and that it should be ... respected," said Walters.
Through the Glynn Academy’s Ethnology Club, the students were able to apply for a historical marker through the Coastal Georgia Historical Society. The students started the research and application process in February of last year, and the application was approved this week.
"The Georgia historical marker program, the regular program where we are actively erecting new historical markers, is an application-based program. So communities across the state have the ability to apply for historical markers about subjects, an event, a person that is unique to their local history, but then portrays a larger state or national history," said Elyse Butler, the marker manager of the Georgia Historical Society.
The marker will be similar to these other markers around the area. One of the potential locations of the marker is at Old Stables Corners, close to the location of the event, but easily accessible for those who want to stop and learn a little more.
“I think, learning about history, we can understand who we are, [and] what we want to be in the future," said Walters
The hope is to have the marker on the ground in May of 2022.