A donation returned after a fireSourced
New York sent aid with one condition:
give it out regardless of race.
A fire destroyed nearly 500 buildings in Savannah, Georgia, in 1820. New York City sent relief money on the condition that it be distributed without racial distinction. Savannah's officials, in a slave state, objected, and the mayor returned the donation.
Even in disaster relief,
racial exclusion prevailed.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
Source and reuse details
Great Savannah Fire of 1820 · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-01