The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil RightsMuseum, located at 406 Martin Luther King, Jr Boulevard (just two blocks from the Savannah's Visitors Center), opened in 1996. The museum was named in honor of the late Dr. Ralph Mark Gilbert, one of Savannah's principle leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and civil rights movement. The museum is located in Savannah's historic district and is housed in a five story building which has a rich history within the African American community. The structure was built in 1914, by African American contractor, Robert Pharrow, from Atlanta, as the Wage Earners Savings and Loan Bank building,and was once the largest African American bank in the United States. In later years, it served as Savannah's Black-owned Guaranty Insurance Company, and office of the Savannah chapter of the NAACP. Today the structure houses the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum which chronicles Savannah's Civil Right Movement with guided and narrated tours covering three floors of interactive exhibits, videos, memorabilia, historic photographs, a replica of Savannah's first lunch counter sit-in, an NAACP organizational exhibit, and a fiber-optic map of eighty-seven significant civil rights sites and events.
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Dr. Ralph Mark Gilbert holds the title ìthe father of Savannah's civil rights movement, adhering to the principles of nonviolent protest. In 1942, Dr. Gilbert revitalized the Savannah chapter of the NAACP and served as its president for eight years; he also held the position of the first president of the Georgia Conference of the NAACP. Under his heroic leadership, more than forty NAACP chapters were formed in Georgia by 1950, as well as Savannah's NAACP Youth Council which soon became the nations largest youth council. In addition to his work with the NAACP the civil rights leader served as the president of the Citizens Democratic Club which challenged Savannah's all white primary, and launched Savannah's largest Black voter's registration drive, in which hundreds of African Americans were registered. As a result of Dr. Gilbert's efforts, in 1947, Savannah became one of the first cities in the South to hire African American as city employees, including nine of Savannah's first Black police officers. Dr Gilbert was not only a passionate civil rights leader he was also, the pastor of Savannah's historic First African Baptist Church from 1939-1956, and a nationally known playwright producing religious dramas known as ìpassion playsî. On August 23, 1956, Dr. Ralph Mark Gilbert died leaving an honorable and rich legacy to Savannah as well as the nation, Dr. Gilbert was a tireless activist who fought for the civil rights guaranteed to all United States citizens.