The Weeping Time is how the enslaved referred to one of the largest documented sales of human beings that occurred March 2 - 3, 1859, in Savannah, Georgia. I first interviewed Dr. Kwesi DeGraft-Hanson in 2016. I didn’t realize that this interview would continuously impact my life and work. I invited Dr. Kwesi DeGraft-Hanson back to speak about an interesting development and his hopes for the property where the actual sale took place.
Dr. DeGraft-Hanson provides us with an overview of The Weeping Time, which took place on March 2nd and 3rd in 1859. DeGraft-Hanson explains that the country was on the verge of a civil war, and everything, even normal things, took on greater significance. One of the largest sales of enslaved humans, 429 people were sold. They came from Butler plantations in Darien and St. Simons, Georgia. The plantations were owned by Pearce Mease Butler.
Annual commemorations take place on a portion of the land that made up the Broeck Tenn Race Track. I asked DeGraft-Hanson to speak about the energy of the places where the enslaved were held and sold. He spoke about blood, sweat, and tears being in the land. He emphasized that the land remembers.
DeGraft-Hanson is hosting a virtual convening for Friends of The Weeping Time on Tuesday, October 21st. He hopes funds can be raised in order to obtain the land and develop a place for commemoration and reconciliation.