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This utterly engrossing book charts the story of the Clotilda, the last ship to transport enslaved Africians to the US in 1860…50 years after the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed. Author Ben Raines, a journalist from Alabama, shares the tale of the ship’s enslaved people, their creation of a community called Africatown & how he recovered the sunk Clotilda in a swamp (on land still owned by the family of the man who instigated the Clotilda’s illegal trip) in 2019.
Timothy Meaher, a wealthy Alabama slave trader, businessman & landowner made a bet he could illegally transport African slaves to the US without getting caught (he was caught but never prosecuted). Unfortunately, Meaher had a willing accomplice in the African Kingdom of Dahomey in present-day Benin, which brutally conquered neighboring nations & sold their residents into slavery. Meaher financed the voyage & William Foster, a fellow businessman, captained the ship. In 1860, the ship arrived in Alabama with over 100 Africans on board, including Cudjo one of the few who was verbally shared his story (more on that below!).
Raines' prose is riveting as he recounts the horrors the slaves endured and their creation of the self-sustaining community of Africatown in Mobile. From capture to community to discovery, this story is filled with fascinating facts and examples of how, while resilient in the face of horror, the Clotilda survivors continued to face race-fueled challenges after their freedom, some even to this day (the Meaher family is still a wealthy force in AL and, still, seemingly intent of lies and manipulation, with rumors that they have, but refuse to share, the wheel from the ship).
Finally, this book highlights the importance of story (ahem book-banners!). 1st-person narratives from enslaved people are rare & this lack of info threatens to erase their experiences & humanity. This book mentions 2 other important books. Raines discusses Zora Neale Hurston's book Barracoon, where she writes about many interviews she conducted with Clotilda survivor Cudjo when he was 86.
I highly recommend this enlightening & educational book!
Timothy Meaher, a wealthy Alabama slave trader, businessman & landowner made a bet he could illegally transport African slaves to the US without getting caught (he was caught but never prosecuted). Unfortunately, Meaher had a willing accomplice in the African Kingdom of Dahomey in present-day Benin, which brutally conquered neighboring nations & sold their residents into slavery. Meaher financed the voyage & William Foster, a fellow businessman, captained the ship. In 1860, the ship arrived in Alabama with over 100 Africans on board, including Cudjo one of the few who was verbally shared his story (more on that below!).
Raines' prose is riveting as he recounts the horrors the slaves endured and their creation of the self-sustaining community of Africatown in Mobile. From capture to community to discovery, this story is filled with fascinating facts and examples of how, while resilient in the face of horror, the Clotilda survivors continued to face race-fueled challenges after their freedom, some even to this day (the Meaher family is still a wealthy force in AL and, still, seemingly intent of lies and manipulation, with rumors that they have, but refuse to share, the wheel from the ship).
Finally, this book highlights the importance of story (ahem book-banners!). 1st-person narratives from enslaved people are rare & this lack of info threatens to erase their experiences & humanity. This book mentions 2 other important books. Raines discusses Zora Neale Hurston's book Barracoon, where she writes about many interviews she conducted with Clotilda survivor Cudjo when he was 86.
I highly recommend this enlightening & educational book!