Welcome to the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum in Savannah, Georgia. Don’t forget to donate and buy all the postcards. Oh and tip your bartender. Have a great tour!

The mission of the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum is to tell the story of Savannah’s Civil Rights Movement. The “Heroes and Sheroes” Room on the Museum’s Lower Level tells that story. This room highlights the stories of the NAACP presidents, the women leadership of the Movement, the NAACP Lawyers and the Chatham County Crusade for Voters leadership.

Earl T. Shinhoster’s growth into a passionate defender of human liberties began with roots deeply embedded in Savannah’s civil rights movement. He was nourished by the dynamic legacy of Ralph Mark Gilbert and by the progressive leadership of W.W. Law. As this exhibit illustrates, the life example he demonstrated is one which continues to provide empowering hope and inspiration.

In 1865, Field Order #15 was issued by General Tecumseh Sherman in Savannah, Georgia. The order, also known as “Forty Acres and A Mule”, granted land and the opportunity for Education for newly freed people. The Museum presents, a moving representation, of this story through a larger than life painting. It represents “The Meeting” Sherman had with twenty black ministers some of them newly freed when General Sherman arrived.