November 28th: Beyond Thanksgiving—A Reckoning with the Past

Thanksgiving, for many, is a day of gratitude and tradition. But for others, it is a day heavy with the weight of history—marked by the legacies of genocide, economic exploitation, and racism. For Georgians, November 28th carries an additional burden: it is the anniversary of the last enslaved Africans brought to the state, a reminder of humanity betrayed.

In 1858, the Wanderer sailed into Jekyll Island’s shadowed shores. Once a symbol of luxury and speed, the yacht had been reconfigured for a far more hideous purpose. Hidden beneath its polished exterior were 409 West African men, women, and children who were stolen from their homeland and transported across the Atlantic in defiance of the Slave Importation Act of 1807, which had outlawed such horrors. Ninety souls perished in the bowels of that ship before reaching land.

The Wanderer’s arrival was not just a crime of law but a moral abomination—a cruel testament to greed and power. It deepened the divide between North and South, its impact rippling toward the Civil War, which would erupt three years later. By the war’s end, the surviving captives were declared free. Yet freedom did not heal the wounds of displacement or restore the lives and homes stolen from them.

On this day, let us move beyond sanitized celebrations and confront the truths beneath them. Let us mourn with Indigenous communities for the lands and lives taken. Let us remember the men, women, and children forced onto the Wanderer—their names lost but their humanity enduring.

This is not just a moment for reflection but for action. The Wanderer is a reminder that injustice thrives when the powerful exploit and the masses remain silent. Let November 28th challenge us to rise, to speak, and to honor those who endured history’s most horrific chapters with resilience and courage.