Interchange at I-516 and Veterans Parkway dedicated to former Savannah mayor Edna Jackson

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A lasting tribute to former Savannah Mayor and former state Rep. Edna Jackson took place as the interchange at Interstate 516 and Veterans Parkway was dedicated in her honor.

State Rep. Carl Gilliard hosted the ceremony at St. Philip A.M.E. Church, followed by a motorcade to the interchange.

Jackson, who served as Savannah’s first Black female mayor and later represented House District 165, said the honor shows people have taken notice of her work, but she credits a lesson about community from a church elder.

“You know, as I’ve been thinking about it nightly and daily, it lets you know that people have been watching the work you have done in your community and also how you appreciate them in the community,” Jackson said. “I have a saying that was told to me by one of the elders of this church who is now deceased, Clifford Hartwick: It is not about the I, it is about the we. And that is what I have tried to tell everyone when I’m out there.”

Gilliard sponsored the resolution to name the interchange for Jackson during the 2021 legislative session.