Welcome to Savannah, Georgia

I remember the very first time I came to Savannah to visit some family that had recently moved here in 2014, it was literally love at first sight. Originally, I’m from a small town in Kansas so Savannah was truly unlike any town I had ever seen before. The first thing I noticed on the drive from the airport was the beautiful trees and the random bodies of water I was used to being landlocked so the water made everything look so tropical and serene to me. We have lots of trees in Kansas too but these trees just made a different impression on me. They were so big, I actually remember the word “mighty“ coming to mind as the best word to describe them. A lot of the trees grow this moss that makes them look so unique some would even say “creepy” sometimes. You could just tell they had been there for awhile and survived a lot. I enjoyed taking in all the beauty but the moment I knew Savannah was going to be my new home was when I visited the famous “Riverstreet” for the first time. Savannah isn’t that big but it still draws in a lot of tourists due to it being such a history rich city. Riverstreet was so exciting to me! I had heard about several different movies being shot there because of the historic bricks and stairs and I was very excited to see for myself. People were everywhere. There were men driving down those rugged uneven “historic bricks” in these fancy cars blasting loud music, there were different stations set up selling their art, face painting, and singing. There are these beautiful luxurious and historic hotels, a giant ferry, and people literally walking around getting as drunk as they wanted. It was just so interesting to me to see how happy everyone looked. There were kids playing and running and couples holding hands looking out at the river. Everybody seemed to get along and seemed happy to be there. I was immediately drawn to the energy. I just remember smiling so big and wanting to see EVERYTHING. I even sang a song with a random man playing his guitar and I just remember feeling so free. I knew that day that I would most likely be coming back to stay. I honestly didn’t know much about Savannah or its history to be honest. But the more that I learned about the history of Savannah it surprisingly pulled me in even more. I did a tour while I was there where I found out that Savannah played a huge part in the trading of enslaved people in the United States. As a matter of fact, there are a few popular underground clubs that used to be where they would hold enslaved people. As a Nigerian-American woman walking the same streets I knew for a fact enslaved people of color not only built but were sold on brought so many different emotions. If I’m being completely honest I felt almost a measure of guilt about visiting certain places and enjoying myself there knowing what they used to be used for. But in a strange way, I was drawn to it like an involuntary pull. Outside of the slave history, I found it interesting overall to be able to visit different restaurants and buildings that have been here since the early 1800s and even the historic churches are absolutely amazing. Long story short, I was completely smitten by the end of my trip. I decided to leave my hometown and make that move about seven months later. It wasn’t an easy decision but it definitely felt like the right one. I immediately felt accepted and understood. In a way I felt more at home than I ever had in my actual hometown. I am a very expressive person and I really felt this new environment accepted me well. I was also surprised to find out that southern hospitality actually was a thing. In Kansas, we have influence from pretty much the entire country, but I wouldn’t say hospitality is our strong suit but people were so polite here and it was refreshing. There is so much diversity and culture in Savannah in my opinion. As an artist, living in a city where there is a world renowned art school was also surreal. I‘ve learned so much hanging out with SCAD students and inspiration is literally everywhere. It didn’t take me long at all to integrate into my new environment. I’ve lived here for about five years now and Savannah means more to me now than I ever imagined it would. My family and I decided to get an ancestry tests done just to gain further understanding of our roots and who we really are. After doing some digging I was absolutely shocked to find out that we had had enslaved ancestors actually born right here in Savannah, Georgia. The news stirred up so many emotions. What hit me the hardest is that I had decided to visit Wormsloe plantation here about six months prior to finding this news out. Seeing the condition of the slave quarters, those big fields people were forced to work, and all of those beautiful mighty trees that I knew had seen it all on that plantation was already a lot to process. Finding out for a fact though that one of my ancestors lived it broughy everything much closer to home. Pain, anger, and frustration struck me pretty hard. For a while I even grew resentful of the city for moving on.. Visiting Riverstreet took on a whole new meaning for me after that. Over time though, I just couldn’t help but think about how in a way, it was so beautiful that my family had unintentionally ended up where our family tree in this country began.. The same place where so much pain and sadness existed for our ancestors we came back to and created a completely different reality. It was as if we were called home to make it right, make it different. After sitting with that information for a while I still feel a lot of different emotions but it all became clear to me why I was so drawn to this city and it’s history. Because it is MY history. I’ve been here for a while now and I still feel like there’s so much I don’t know about the city and I learn something new every day. It’s not always pleasant but I feel like the more that I learn about Savannah the more I learn about my own family history and my own self. This move has played such a huge hand in shaping who I am today. I have absolutely no regrets about relocating and all in all I’m proud to call Savannah my new home.