Submitted by Savannah Victorian Society
Sept. 5, 2023 – The Savannah Victorian Society, Savannah State University’s Africana Studies Program, and the Andrew Low House Museum are pleased to host Dr. Tiya Miles, the Michael Garvey Professor of History and Radcliffe Alumnae Professor at Harvard University. At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, Dr. Miles will lecture about her book All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake.
A New York Times bestseller, All That She Carried has won eleven historical and literary prizes, including the 2021 National Book Award for Nonfiction and the 2022 Cundill History Prize. The book was also named A Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, NPR, Publisher’s Weekly, The Atlantic, Time, and more.
In addition to All That She Carried, Miles has authored six other books, including three other prize-winning histories about race and slavery in the American past. Her other scholarly works include: The Dawn of Detroit, Tales from the Haunted South, The House on Diamond Hill, Ties That Bind, and the forthcoming Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation. Miles also publishes essays in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, and other media outlets, and she has consulted with colleagues at historic sites and museums on representations of slavery, African American material culture, and the Black-Native intersectional past, including, most recently, the Fabric of a Nation quilt exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Miles’s work has been supported by a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her newest book is the debut time-bridge novel, The Cherokee Rose, a ghost story set in the plantation South and based on historical events.
Miles was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“The Africana Studies Program celebrates the opportunity to welcome Dr. Miles back to Savannah State University (SSU),” says Christina L. Davis, Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Africana Studies at SSU. “Miles’ collective body of work reminds us of the importance of deeply investigating African American history, bringing to light important accounts of American Black experiences.”
Miles’s presentation is the third program hosted by the Savannah Victorian Society and Savannah State University’s Africana Studies Program, and marks the first year the Andrew Low House Museum has joined the partnership. Our goals include: providing opportunities to learn about history and culture of 19th century African Americans; bringing together diverse Savannah audiences; and cultivating dialogue and contemplation about our collective and individual pasts.
“The Andrew Low House Museum is proud to join the SVS/ASP in bringing such an important story and a renowned author to Savannah,” said Rebecca Eddins, Executive Director, Andrew Low House Museum. “All That She Carried is a moving account of resilience and courage, and we are thrilled to collaborate on this program.”
Tania Sammons, President of the Savannah Victorian Society, agrees: “I am so pleased the collective efforts of our partner organizations, the City of Savannah’s Weave-A-Dream Program, and our sponsors have allowed us to bring to the Savannah community one of our country’s top historians.” She adds, “All That She Carried is a powerful history that weaves together so many elements of our shared American story and demonstrates the connectedness of people, material culture, and time.”
Investment is provided by City of Savannah’s Weave-A-Dream Program
Additional Support is provided by:
Walter O. Evans Foundation for Art and Literature
Stephanie Burgess, Burgess Law Group
Judge Tammy Stokes, Chatham County Superior Court
Ron Melander
About the Partner Organizations:
The Savannah Victorian Society (SVS) is a non-profit organization that provides educational opportunities focused on historic preservation, history, the arts, and culture in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. https://www.facebook.com/SavannahChapteroftheVictorianSocietyinAmerica. SVS is a chapter of the Victorian Society in America (VSA). VSA was founded in 1966 in response to the 1964 demolition of New York’s Pennsylvania Station. https://victoriansociety.org/
Savannah State University’s Africana Studies Program provides students with the opportunity to study and research the history and culture of Africans and African Americans. The interdisciplinary program enables students to develop an appreciation for the contributions Black people have made to America and world history. https://www.savannahstate.edu/class/departments/social-science/africana.shtml
Savannah State University is the oldest Historically Black College or University in the state of Georgia, and the oldest institution of higher learning in the city of Savannah. https://www.savannahstate.edu/
The Andrew Low House Museum provides a glimpse of domestic life in the 1850s thriving seaport of Savannah. It was home to the Low family and the enslaved men and women who lived there. Later, the house was home to Juliette Gordon Low, daughter-in-law of Andrew Low and the founder of the Girl Scouts. https://www.andrewlowhouse.com/
#stayengagedsavannah
If you find value in this website, please consider contributing via Paypal @SavAgenda to help cover the costs. You can also send contributions via Venmo @Savannah_Agenda. Your support, no matter how much you give, is appreciated and will help ensure the future viability of this community resource. You can also show your support by sharing Savannah Agenda with others via email or social media. Increasing readership is critical to the long-term success of this site.