The Westley Wallace Law Archive at the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum

In August, 2019, the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum got a permanent home for its Collection of papers and artifacts. The plan for the Archive was designed in 1996 by Museum founder Westley Wallace Law. It is located on the third floor, just above the West Broad Street Room, with a sweeping view of Martin Luther King Boulevard, formerly West Broad, the Talmadge Bridge and just through the trees to the north, the gold dome of Savannah’s City Hall. Mr. Law would be proud to see the shelves lined with the History of the city he loved and talked about to all who would listen.

The Archive was designed, to the certain specifications, to receive the papers of the Reverend Dr. Ralph Mark Gilbert. The Gilbert Collection were donated to the Museum by Mrs. Eloria S. Gilbert and arrived, on site, on July 8, 2020. The Collection includes hundreds of type-written sermons Reverend Gilbert delivered as the 13th pastor of the First African Baptist Church, the noteworthy Passion Plays written and performed in Savannah and documents related to his work in Savannah and the state of Georgia, as president of the local and state chapters of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum accepts items to its Collection relative to the Savannah Civil Rights Movement. If you have any collectibles or know anyone who would like to help the Museum tell this story, please contact the Museum through this website or call 912-777-6099.

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to be a cause for concern, the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum is closed to the public effective immediately.

We will share updates as they become available. Please check this website and our social media channels for all new information. We look forward to seeing you when we reopen.