• Since 1867

    Preserving Savannah's

    African-American History

  • Founder of the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation Inc

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    W.W. Law

    Founder

    The King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation Inc (Foundation) was founded by Wesley Wallace Law, more commonly know as W. W. Law, and a renowned preservationist, visionary and community activist. The Foundation is the parent operating organization for the King-Tisdell Cottage and The Beach Institute.

     

    W. W. Law was a crusader for justice and the civil rights of African Americans. He served as president of the Savannah Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1950 to 1976 and came to be widely known as “Mr. Civil Rights.”

    Law believed that nonviolent means were the best way to open the city for blacks.

     

    After retiring from the NAACP, he turned his attention to the preservation

    of African American history and historic buildings. He established the Westley Wallace Law Savannah-Yamacraw Branch of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASALH).

     

    As president of ASALH, he established the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum, Negro Heritage Trail Tour, King-Tisdell Cottage Museum, and the Beach Institute of African American Culture.

     

    Law received honorary doctorates from Savannah College of Art and Design (1997) and Savannah State University (2000), the Distinguished Georgian Award (1998) from the Center for the Study of Georgia History at Augusta State University, the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Preservation Award (2001), and the Governor's Award in the Humanities (1992). Law died on July 28, 2002, at his Savannah home.

     

  • King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation

    Mission Statement

    To research, collect, interpret and present African American history and culture through exhibits, art, films, lectures, oral history, tours and publications. The Foundation endeavors to promote and disseminate information concerning this history and to celebrate the contributions of African Americans, especially in Georgia and the Sea Islands of South Carolina. The Foundation seeks to foster continued interracial understanding and appreciation of different cultures.

    King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation

    Purpose Declaration

    King-Tisdell Cottage is the birthplace of the movement to preserve African American history in Savannah. It serves as a museum interpreting black life in the region from slavery to freedom, through tours, exhibits and related materials. The King-Tisdell Cottage also tells the story of two working class families in the early decades of the 20th century and provides information on the life and work of Mr. W. W. Law, the civil rights leader who helped save and preserve the cottage and who founded the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation.

    The Beach Institute African-American Cultural Center

    Purpose Statement

    The Beach Institute is Savannah’s first school built after Emancipation specifically for African Americans. As a cultural center, the Beach Institute collects, interprets, preserves and presents African American history and culture through exhibits and artistic and educational programs.

  • 2024 Board of Directors

    EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

    Ronald L. Christopher, Chair - Juanita Adams, Vice-Chair - Antoinette M. Mullino, Secretary - Dr. Bobby Jones, Treasurer

     

    BOARD MEMBERS

    E. Bruce Adams

    Freddie H. Gilyard

    Willis Jones

    Lillian Grant-Baptiste

    Michael Porter

     

    FOUNDATION STAFF

    Johnathan Winbush - KTCF General Manager

    Imani Mtendaji - King-Tisdell Cottage Museum