ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA – May 7, 2025 –IGBO Landing Foundation is slated to host the 222nd IGBO Landing Three Day Commemorative Weekend on Friday, May 23 through Sunday May 25, 2025, at Epworth By The Sea, located at 100 Arthur J Moore Dr, St Simons Island, GA 31522.
This is the Igbo Landing Foundation’s 4th annual Academic & Cultural Development Conference Commemoration weekend, where community members, scholars, students, and knowledge seekers from around the world gather to commemorate Igbo Landing, bridge histories, and celebrate cultural diversity.
The three-day event will include a Worship Service at First Baptist Church, a Group trip to the Gullah Geechee Festival in SC, historic site visits, Commemoration Ceremony & Closing Community Dinner and more.
In May of 1803 a large group of enslaved IGBO Africans made history by resisting their enslavement in the most dramatic way possible. Inspired by a noble chief among them, they rose up and martyred themselves at Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, chanting ‘The Water brought us here, The Water will take us away’ as they walked down into the river, where they all drowned. Ever since, IGBO Landing has been a ‘sacred place’ and the story became known all throughout the Gullah Geechee world. The central message: You may enslave my body, but not my mind, not my soul. We seek to remember and honor these noble ancestors. We also seek to preserve the land itself and memorialize the story by official designation of IGBO Landing as a National Historic Site (or Monument).
The Savannah African Art Museum is a member of the Planning committee of the annual commemorative weekend.
“We attended the 2022 Igbo Landing Marker Dedication at the invitation of the Georgia Historical Society and were honored to join the planning committees for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 IGBO Landing Commemoration at the invitation of Griffin Lotson, Vice Chairman of the National Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission,” said Lisa Jackson, Savannah African Art Museum Education and Community Outreach Liaison. “We are hoping those who have enjoyed our museum tours, especially our Nigeria Gallery which includes art of the IGBO people, will join us for this enlightening historical event. In collaboration, The Museum will include a special focus on the art & history of Igbo People of Nigeria on their West African tours beginning May 23rd through “Juneteenth” June 19th, 2025.”
The Commemoration is Free. Registration is required. For more Igbo Landing History, a list of the week–end’s events & full event details visit: https://igbolandingfoundation.org.
Register here: https://www.ticketsignup.io/TicketEvent/222ndIgboLandingCommemoration
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For media inquiries, please contact Allie Robinson at allie@lesleyfrancispr.com or 912-547-3100, or Lesley Francis at lesley@lesleyfrancispr.com or 912-429-3950.