A local activist and organizer making change through Tybee MLK
Julia Pearce is a Tybee Island resident who is actively engaged in the work of championing social justice and human rights. Pearce first moved to Tybee 27 years ago after a divorce, having since raised two children here and embedded herself within the fabric of Tybee’s tight-knit community. Two of her favorite aspects of island life are the proximity to the Atlantic and the neighbors she’s befriended.
“I love the ocean. I love being able to walk out to the ocean whenever I get ready. I love the peace. I’ve got good neighbors. A lot of them are gone now, but I’ve still got some good people. It’s a wonderful place to live,” said Pearce. Prior to relocating to Tybee, Pearce worked in Atlanta as a psychiatric nurse and continued to work in the mental healthcare field once she arrived here in the Coastal Empire, landing positions with Tidelands Health and Gateway Community Service Board. Eventually, after her children grew up and moved away, Pearce found herself as an empty nester. With ample time on her hands, she turned her attention to the betterment of her community, co-founding Tybee MLK, the island’s human rights organization that is committed to social justice, equity and changemaking.
Pearce and her current husband Mallory started Tybee MLK in 2013. The organization arose from an initiative they took on to get the City of Tybee to recognize the federal Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday locally.
“What started [Tybee MLK] was the fact that we did not celebrate Dr. King’s holiday on the beach. I thought that was strange because it’s a federal holiday, but we as a city did not recognize it. They didn’t close down. They let the workers decide whether or not to take their personal birthday off or Dr. King day. Most workers, of course, took their personal birthdays off.”
Pearce raised this issue with Tybee’s then-city manager, Diane Schleicher, who successfully changed the policy to make MLK Day an official holiday recognized by the local government.
“She was our first woman city manager that Tybee ever had. We honored her and gave her an award in 2023 for making a difference. She did a wonderful, wonderful job,” said Pearce.
From its inception in 2013, Tybee MLK has grown into a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with several initiatives that advance the purpose of their mission.
“Our mission continues to focus on social justice and equality. We believe in what Dr. King understood, which is that people have to work together and talk about problems in order to make a better world,” said Pearce.
Tybee MLK hosts regular meetings and workshops to get locals together to discuss the issues impacting the community.
“We believe in the beloved community. . . When we talk about human rights issues, we try to be more inclusive and talk about our history out here on the island,” she said.
Preserving accurate local history is one of Tybee MLK’s primary focuses. To that end, the organization has collaborated with the Tybee Island Historical Society and Georgia Southern University to create the Tybee Black History Trail, which consists of 13 stops highlighting an important aspect of local Black History. The trail was officially dedicated on Tuesday, May 7 of this year.
Another recent project of Tybee MLK has been to establish the link between the Tybee Lazaretto — the first stop on the Black history trail, which recounts the history of enslaved Africans who were quarantined there to prevent sickness from spreading among the local inhabitants before being sold in Savannah and throughout the Southeast — and the Door of No Return in Cape Coast, Ghana, from where many enslaved Africans were stolen.
The Mayor of Cape Coast, Ghana, Earnest Arthur, and his delegation came to the Tybee the week of April 20–27 to foster connection and cultural exchange.
“I was proud of my city. Mayor Brian West gave the mayor of Cape Coast, Ghana, keys to the city. And the Cape Coast mayor gave us these beautiful stoles [made from] a very nice African material. It was a nice cultural exchange that happened on the island,” said Pearce.
During the visit, the Ghanaian delegation also visited students at Tybee Island Maritime Academy, who were studying about the country. Leaders are establishing a pen pal program between TIMA students and students in Cape Coast.
With the delegation visit and the dedication of the Black history trail behind them, Tybee MLK is now preparing for one of their biggest initiatives of the year: their annual Juneteenth celebration. Juneteenth was officially signed into law as a federal holiday in 2021, but Tybee MLK has been observing Juneteenth since 2014 with a community-wide celebration and an annual wade-in at the beach commemorating its desegregation.
This year, the Juneteenth celebration kicks off on June 16–17 at South Beach’s pier and pavilion where Afro-centric vendors will be selling goods. Then on Wednesday, June 19 at 9 a.m., the annual wade-in will take place. Local storyteller Patt Gunn and the Saltwata Players will regale attendees with inspiring stories of strength and survival and lead the crowd in shout and song.
Juneteenth is just one of five core events Tybee MLK hosts each year, with the others being Dr. King’s federal holiday in January, Lazaretto Day on March 25, Indigenous Peoples’ Day in October and Kwanzaa in December. Throughout the year, Tybee MLK remains active in the local community, fostering connection and stirring up “good trouble.” Pearce encourages anyone interested in getting involved with Tybee MLK to come to their meetings and events and to visit the organization online to learn about their different initiatives.
“They might look at some of the things we’re doing, and if they like it, then come and be a part and work with us,” she said. “We look for volunteers and helpers to be involved in the mission of making one love. There’s only one race and that’s the human race, and we work together to better it.”
To learn more about Tybee MLK and how to get involved, visit tybeemlk.com.
This article appears in Connect Savannah I Best of Savannah.
