‘I am full of joy': Africatown Welcome Center breaks ground
City of Mobile, Oak View Group set groundbreaking for new arena
'Right now, I am full of joy,' community leader Cleon Jones said.
The new welcome center will sit on Bay Bridge Cutoff Road just off Africatown Boulevard.
'A project of this size and this magnitude that encompasses the beliefs of everybody in the area brings about a feeling of hope and new beginnings,' Mobile City Councilman William Carroll said.
This project costs $5.1 million and is funded completely through the RESTORE Act.
The welcome center will be a starting place for visitors to learn about the Freedom Town created by the 110 slaves brought to Mobile Bay on the Clotilda, 50 years after the international slave trade was abolished in the U.S.
The center will have meeting rooms, exhibition spaces and outdoor areas for festivals and other performances.
'We have a story to tell and an obligation to tell that story,' Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said.
The building will also kick off tours like the Africatown Freedom tour group.
'This is what you call world history, so by being world history, people need to know this little part of history needs to be told to the whole world,' Africatown Freedom tour organizer Chiquitta Clemons-Howard said.
October London coming to Mobile Saenger Theatre
Construction is expected to take about a year.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Yahoo
Mobile's Alabama Task Force 1 search and rescue team deployed to Texas
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey sent a search and rescue team, including members of Mobile Fire Rescue, to Texas to assist in rescue and recovery efforts on Thursday. Global steel manufacturer announces $61 million investment; 100 jobs coming to Loxley According to a news release from Gov. Ivey's office, the state is sending a 40-person team that includes Alabama Task Force 1 from Mobile, the Tuscaloosa Fire Department and the Saraland Fire Department. The team includes members from different disciplines, including rescue, canine search, medical, hazmat, technical search and communications, according to the release. That multi-discipline tactic allows them to conduct search and rescue in all hazards, to include locating, accessing, medically stabilizing and extricating survivors from affected structures and areas, the release said. 'Search and rescue remains the goal, and Alabama is going to do all we can to lend a helping hand to Texas,' Gov. Ivey said. Gov. Ivey spoke on the connection to the devastating floods in Texas, in the loss of Alabama residents, and some Alabama residents still missing. 'We are heartbroken in Alabama and have lost two of our own,' she said. 'I pray for Sarah Marsh's family as they navigate the unimaginable loss of their precious daughter. My prayers are also with the Santanas as they grieve the loss of Camille and are still searching for three members of their family. Truly, we are all grieving alongside these Alabamians, as well as those in Texas and across our country.' Gov. Ivey said she was glad Alabama had the resources and trained people to assist in this tragedy. 'I am grateful to all those who are part of the search and rescue mission, and I pray for their safety and for the success of their mission,' she said. 'Y'all pray for Texas.' Backstreet boy wants it his way in court case against Walton County Sheriff's Office The team left at 3 p.m. today and will work in 12-hour shifts for up to 14 days, according to the release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
05-07-2025
- Boston Globe
In photos, the remaining descendants of the last known slave ship hold memorial ceremony
'The Clotilda history and the community that they built in Africatown is very much something that we honor, talk about, discuss, celebrate,' said Chanelle Blackwell, a ceremony organizer. The ship, known as the Clotilda, was discovered in 2019 in the murky waters of the Alabama Gulf Coast. But, more than 40 years ago, descendants of the 110 Africans who were ferried to American shores collectively founded a historical society to preserve the culture and heritage of the last Africans brought to America, and to ensure that future generations are aware of their ancestors and African history. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Walter Jermaine Bell traveled to Mobile from Atlanta and laid down a ceremonial wreath at the event. He said he was honored and humbled to participate. Advertisement 'Such a gratifying feeling, a redeeming feeling, to be able to do something to bridge the gap, not just for this group, but also for my kids who are present,' he said. 'I really wanted them to see and participate in this.' Historical records show that Africatown, formally known as Plateau, was bought by 32 of the freed survivors of the Clotilda after the Civil War, about 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) north of Mobile. Advertisement The Clotilda had been under a $1 million state-funded investigation to excavate and preserve the ship, to be brought on land, with the goal of turning it into a museum that could generate a much-needed amount of revenue for the Africatown community. A task force of archaeologists, engineers, and historians, headed by the Alabama Historical Commission, recommended in a report that pillars be installed around the ship underwater to protect it from passing ships — an event they suspect caused the ship to break in half before it sank. Cherrelle Jefferson Smith attended the annual event for the first time. A resident of Africatown who moved to Mobile in 2014, she said 'it seems like I was meant to be here.' 'It was very sacred and personal, no matter if you're a descendant or not,' she said, adding that she was brought to tears by the event. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. ____ AP Race and Ethnicity reporter Jaylen Green reported from New York. Adrian Sainz contributed from Memphis, Tennessee.
San Francisco Chronicle
05-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
In photos, the remaining descendants of the last known slave ship hold memorial ceremony
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — The remaining descendants of the last ship carrying enslaved Africans to land in the U.S. in 1860 met Saturday in Mobile, Alabama, for a memorial ceremony. Attendees, many of them dressed in white, gathered near Africatown Bridge on the banks of the river, where the ship remains submerged because it is too decayed to be extracted. Descendants say they are intent on ensuring the public never forgets what human beings endured during their two-month voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. 'The Clotilda history and the community that they built in Africatown is very much something that we honor, talk about, discuss, celebrate,' said Chanelle Blackwell, a ceremony organizer. The ship, known as the Clotilda, was discovered in 2019 in the murky waters of the Alabama Gulf Coast. But, more than 40 years ago, descendants of the 110 Africans who were ferried to American shores collectively founded a historical society to preserve the culture and heritage of the last Africans brought to America, and to ensure that future generations are aware of their ancestors and African history. Walter Jermaine Bell traveled to Mobile from Atlanta and laid down a ceremonial wreath at the event. He said he was honored and humbled to participate. "Such a gratifying feeling, a redeeming feeling, to be able to do something to bridge the gap, not just for this group, but also for my kids who are present," he said. 'I really wanted them to see and participate in this.' Historical records show that Africatown, formally known as Plateau, was bought by 32 of the freed survivors of the Clotilda after the Civil War, about 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) north of Mobile. The Clotilda had been under a $1 million state-funded investigation to excavate and preserve the ship, to be brought on land, with the goal of turning it into a museum that could generate a much-needed amount of revenue for the Africatown community. A task force of archaeologists, engineers and historians, headed by the Alabama Historical Commission, recommended in a report that pillars be installed around the ship underwater to protect it from passing ships — an event they suspect caused the ship to break in half before it sank. Cherrelle Jefferson Smith attended the annual event for the first time. A resident of Africatown who moved to Mobile in 2014, she said 'it seems like I was meant to be here.' 'It was very sacred and personal, no matter if you're a descendant or not,' she said, adding that she was brought to tears by the event.
