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While producing our special Thanksgiving issue, someone said that “Thanksgiving is for nostalgia.” We were talking about food and the profound and powerful sense memories tied to smell and taste. But it also got us thinking about how nostalgia is underpinned by longing for the ineffable — connection, safety, warmth and plenty. No other holiday is constructed so firmly around the table and the idea of abundance and sharing, where with the addition of a couple of leaves, there’s always room for more — more chairs, more place settings, more pies.

For early inspiration, we recalled Norman Rockwell’s treasured illustration “Freedom from Want,” created for the Saturday Evening Post after the artist was galvanized by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech, delivered in January 1941. The nation was just emerging from the Great Depression only to face the rapid spread of fascism, imperialism and nihilism abroad and at home. FDR’s words presented a vision of a post-war world that embraced freedom of expression, freedom to worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.

It's been a long, long time since a president’s words inspired a people to a common cause and a shared vision. But as we face both as a nation and the world the rapid spread of authoritarianism, fascism and nihilism again, FDR’s words remain relevant as well as rallying. Sometimes we need reminders of what’s important.

So, for our Thanksgiving issue this year, the Savannah Morning News is dedicating a few pages not to screaming headlines and darkness, but to stories and people in our community who embody the best in us – those who create places at the table, who lift our spirits, and who live the spirit of Thanksgiving every day.

Freedom from Want

Although the number of people living in poverty in our community has decreased by more than 5% in the last decade, we still have too many people, nearly 20%, living on the edge, deciding between the rising cost of shelter and food, between paying rent or life-saving medication. More than 65% of public-school students access free or reduced-cost breakfast and lunch — and that may be the only food they get that week and into the weekend. Food is key to mental and physical health, and its social aspects helps foster community. Hunger, real and metaphorical, is solvable.

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Freedom of Speech

The late Ruth Bader Ginsburg advised people to “Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind – even if your voice shakes. When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say.” Over Thanksgiving, the person you fear alienating or disappointing or who makes your blood boil may be someone you love and sitting across the table. Disarm them with curiosity. Your superpower is active listening. And when you finally speak — shaky voice and all — your words will hold weight.

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Freedom from Fear

In the context of his 1941 speech, FDR envisioned “that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor.” Yet, the irony of this holiday is that among many Native American communities, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning because it marks the arrival of colonists to these shores who ultimately oppressed and sought to eradicate Indigenous peoples, their languages, customs, and religions. Only in recent history have there been efforts to acknowledge that violent past. Honestly reckoning with our history, without fear or shame, is a step toward healing.

Another Perspective: For Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning. This truth is also part of our story

Freedom to Worship

One of the pillars of our democracy is that people should be able to practice their faith traditions according to the “dictates of their own conscience.” There is no one right way, but there is a thread running through nearly all of those traditions and that is the active practice of gratitude. Rewiring your consciousness to seek out the helpers – to paraphrase Fred Rogers – to assume good in others, and to spend time in contemplation, giving thanks for something as simple as being awakened by a rising sun, changes not only your outlook but your physical well-being.

Want to change your life? Make gratitude an intentional daily practice

Need Help with the Fixin's?

The Life of Pie: Wow your Thanksgiving dinner guests with this pie recipe from Back in the Day's Cheryl Day

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Plus ...

Behind the Scenes: Meet our Guests

The Savannah Morning News invited a few people to join us for a Thanksgiving photoshoot at the restored Victorian on 37th Street that is now Common Thread, widely lauded for its innovate fresh-from-the-farm cuisine. Our intention was not to leave anyone out but to show gratitude for the great gifts some folks have given our community.

We could not hold a snap session without FARM Hospitality's executive chef, Brandon Carter, who showed us how to make a smokin' hot turkey. Back in the Day Bakery's Cheryl Day, cofounder of Southern Restaurants for Social Justice, brought her gloriously golden cranberry pie. When songstress Laiken Williams is in the house, you know there will be joy and harmony. Lori Judge, CEO of Judge Realty, curates spaces as well as the arts she generously supports. Greg Parker, who says he has reached the "harvest" time in his career, is leading by example for how to give with impact ― and results. And Rabbi Robert Haas has taught us how to meet this difficult moral moment with grace and humor.

The empty chair holds space for those who were unable to join us: serial community creator Clinton Edminster, bold muralist José Ray, and health evangelist and elder statesman Otis Johnson.

Special thanks to Ashley Cope with FARM Hospitality for helping the set up and style the shoot.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: thanksgiving 2023 with gratitude