Fannie Gibbs Begins WWALS Webinars 2024-01-11

Update 2024-01-14: Video: Fannie Gibbs Begins WWALS Webinars 2024-01-11.

Hahira, Georgia, December 26, 2023 — WWALS Webinars is a new monthly series of lunchtime talks via zoom about topics related to the Suwannee River Basin.

On Thursday, January 11, 2024, from noon to 1PM, we are starting with Fannie Marie Jackson Gibbs of Brooks County, Georgia, long active in issues near the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers, especially involving African-American family history. She will talk about the ongoing sewage problems in Quitman, the annual Juneteenth celebrations she organizes at Reed Bingham State Park Lake where WWALS brings boats, family history, and anything else she wants to discuss.

Fannie Gibbs in a boat at Reed Bingham State Park, Junteenth 2020

“We thank Fannie Gibbs for speaking at WWALS River Revue 2023 in September, and we welcome her back to speak longer in this first WWALS Webinar,” said WWALS President Sara Jay Jones.

“I’m honored to have worked with Fannie for many years, and I hope you will all zoom in to hear what she has to say,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

Fannie Marie Jackson Gibbs portrait

Fannie Marie Jackson Gibbs was born August 6, 1953, at 5234 Jackson Road in Morven, GA 31638. She was brought into this world kicking and screaming, (said by family), with the assistance of her Grandmother, a noted and documented midwife, Pollie Mae James Jackson, who learned this skill from her Grandfather, one Ben Davis, an enslaved man of Haitian descent owned by Pliney Sheffield, I and II, documented in history as among America’s richest plantation owners. Ben Davis is credited with saving Pliney II’s life at the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia. Fannie began documenting and researching all the stories told by her Grandma and others and has made it her life’s passion to strive for the universal message of Juneteenth — None are Free Until All Are Free. Fannie spends her time punishing her grands and others with history lessons at every turn. She is currently spearheading efforts to preserve African and Native American history through The Macedonia Community Foundation, Inc. She enjoys activism and has never met a cause she could not find a lesson to teach.

Fannie Gibbs of Macedonia Community Foundation and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman

About WWALS: Since June 2012, WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS) is an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity working for a healthy watershed with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.

Mission: WWALS advocates for conservation and stewardship of the surface waters and groundwater of the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary, in south Georgia and north Florida, among them the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, Santa Fe, and Suwannee River watersheds, through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities. Our Watershed: The 10,000-square-mile WWALS territory includes the Suwannee River from the Okefenokee Swamp to the Gulf of Mexico, plus the Suwannee River Estuary, and tributaries such as the Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers as far north as Cordele in Georgia, as well as parts of the Floridan Aquifer, which is the primary water source for drinking, agriculture, and industry for millions of Georgia and Florida residents.

Suwannee Riverkeeper: Since December 2016, WWALS is the WATERKEEPER® Alliance Member for the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary as Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®, which is a project and a staff position of WWALS focusing on our advocacy.

Contact: John S. Quarterman
Suwannee Riverkeeper
wwalswatershed@gmail.com
850-290-2350

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WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

A healthy watershed with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.

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