Simba and I visited the Black Holocaust Memorial in Savannah, Georgia, a deeply personal and unconventional memorial created by local folk artist James “Double Dutch” Kimble to confront the brutality of American slavery. Unlike the grand monuments found throughout Savannah’s historic district, this installation is hidden away in an alley behind Kimble’s home near East Anderson Street.
There are no polished plazas, towering marble columns, or manicured grounds here. Instead, visitors encounter handmade figures created largely from wire and papier-mâché, arranged within the neighborhood where Kimble has spent decades creating art. At the center of the memorial is a shackled Black man portrayed as though he is being displayed for sale, accompanied by a woman and children whose presence evokes the devastating separation of enslaved families.
It is intentionally uncomfortable. Kimble created the memorial because he believed Savannah needed a depiction of slavery that confronted visitors with the suffering endured by enslaved people rather than presenting that history in a softened or distant way.
🕊️ Why James Kimble Created the Black Holocaust Memorial
The story behind the memorial is closely connected to Savannah’s African-American Monument, which was unveiled along River Street in 2002. That official monument commemorates the experiences and contributions of African Americans while acknowledging Savannah’s connection to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade…