| 1 | 1 | | 25 LC 129 0451 |
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| 2 | 2 | | House Resolution 988 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Representatives Jackson of the 165 |
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| 4 | 4 | | th |
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| 5 | 5 | | , Westbrook of the 163 |
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| 6 | 6 | | rd |
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| 7 | 7 | | , Stephens of the 164 |
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| 8 | 8 | | th |
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| 9 | 9 | | , |
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| 10 | 10 | | Gilliard of the 162 |
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| 11 | 11 | | nd |
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| 12 | 12 | | , and Hitchens of the 161 |
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| 13 | 13 | | st |
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| 14 | 14 | | |
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| 15 | 15 | | A RESOLUTION |
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| 16 | 16 | | Recognizing and commending The Savannah Tribune; and for other purposes. |
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| 17 | 17 | | 1 |
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| 18 | 18 | | WHEREAS, during the years between the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and the2 |
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| 19 | 19 | | beginning of the Reconstruction Era in 1865, three Savannah African American civic and3 |
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| 20 | 20 | | business leaders, John H. DeVeaux, Louis B. Toomer, Sr., and Louis M. Pleasant, took4 |
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| 21 | 21 | | advantage of this brief period of opportunities for African Americans in the South,5 |
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| 22 | 22 | | recognizing the need for a newspaper dedicated to covering news and issues related to the6 |
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| 23 | 23 | | African-American community of Savannah; and7 |
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| 24 | 24 | | WHEREAS, despite facing an unfavorable environment of segregation and resistance from8 |
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| 25 | 25 | | white citizens with policies designed to block black progress, DeVeaux, Toomer, and9 |
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| 26 | 26 | | Pleasant moved forward with personal resources from DeVeaux, who was born in 1848 to10 |
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| 27 | 27 | | a free black family, to finance the establishment of The Colored Tribune in 1875, renamed11 |
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| 28 | 28 | | The Savannah Tribune in 1876, for the stated purpose of defending "the rights of the colored12 |
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| 29 | 29 | | people and their elevation to the highest plane of citizenship;" and13 |
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| 30 | 30 | | WHEREAS, The Tribune, one of the first African American-owned and operated newspapers14 |
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| 31 | 31 | | in the United States, was published until 1878, when forced to close because white printers15 |
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| 32 | 32 | | in the city refusing to produce the newspaper; and16 |
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| 33 | 33 | | H. R. 988 |
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| 34 | 34 | | - 1 - 25 LC 129 0451 |
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| 35 | 35 | | WHEREAS, DeVeaux and R.W. White founded The Tribune Publishing Company with its |
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| 36 | 36 | | 17 |
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| 37 | 37 | | own printing plant and reopened The Savannah Tribune in 1886, with DeVeaux serving as18 |
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| 38 | 38 | | editor until 1889, when he was appointed as Collector of Customs, and relocated to19 |
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| 39 | 39 | | Brunswick, Georgia, after which Savannah businessman, Soloman "Sol" C. Johnson,20 |
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| 40 | 40 | | assumed editorship and upon DeVeaux's death in 1909 became owner of The Tribune; and21 |
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| 41 | 41 | | WHEREAS, under Sol Johnson's editorship, The Tribune served as the only print source in22 |
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| 42 | 42 | | south Georgia and north Florida for news about race riots and the injustices of the Jim Crow23 |
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| 43 | 43 | | era such as lynchings and the lack of educational opportunities that were imposed upon24 |
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| 44 | 44 | | blacks; and25 |
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| 45 | 45 | | WHEREAS, upon the death of Sol C. Johnson in 1954, his Goddaughter, Willa Ayers26 |
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| 46 | 46 | | Johnson, who worked as secretary at The Tribune, assumed ownership and published The27 |
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| 47 | 47 | | Tribune until September 1960, when it closed its doors; and28 |
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| 48 | 48 | | WHEREAS, The Savannah Tribune was re-established in 1973, by banker Robert E. James,29 |
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| 49 | 49 | | who was owner and publisher until 1983, when his wife, Shirley Barber James, a community30 |
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| 50 | 50 | | leader and university educator, became the publisher and sole owner; and31 |
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| 51 | 51 | | WHEREAS, with the exception of hiatuses from 1878 to 1886, and 1960 to 1973, The32 |
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| 52 | 52 | | Savannah Tribune has operated continuously, even in the wake of a devastating fire in33 |
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| 53 | 53 | | January 2006, when the local journalism community rallied around The Tribune such that it34 |
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| 54 | 54 | | was able to continue the proud tradition of not missing a publication date since its rebirth in35 |
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| 55 | 55 | | 1973.36 |
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| 56 | 56 | | NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES t hat37 |
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| 57 | 57 | | the members of this body recognize The Savannah Tribune as a beacon in journalism,38 |
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| 58 | 58 | | H. R. 988 |
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| 59 | 59 | | - 2 - 25 LC 129 0451 |
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| 60 | 60 | | celebrate 150 years as a valued Savannah tradition on June 28, 2025, and commend its |
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| 61 | 61 | | 39 |
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| 62 | 62 | | continuing proud legacy of championing causes that uplift African Americans locally,40 |
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| 63 | 63 | | regionally, and nationally through print and digital media.41 |
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| 64 | 64 | | 42 |
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| 65 | 65 | | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized43 |
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| 66 | 66 | | and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to44 |
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| 67 | 67 | | Shirley Barber James, publisher of The Savannah Tribune.45 |
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| 68 | 68 | | H. R. 988 |
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| 69 | 69 | | - 3 - |
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