Latest news with #Clotilda
Boston Globe
05-07-2025
- General
- 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
- General
- 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.
Associated Press
05-07-2025
- General
- Associated Press
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. 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.
CBS News
04-07-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Underwater archaeologist James Delgado reveals the stories behind history's most haunting shipwrecks
Renowned underwater archaeologist James Delgado appeared on "CBS Mornings" on Friday to discuss his new book, "The Great Museum of the Sea," and reflect on more than 50 years of searching for historic shipwrecks around the world. Delgado, who has investigated more than 100 shipwrecks globally, gained international attention in 2019 when he discovered the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in the United States. The discovery was later featured in a "60 Minutes" segment with Anderson Cooper. The archaeologist's fascination with shipwrecks began in childhood while growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, where he learned about ships from the 1849 Gold Rush. He said locating shipwrecks requires extensive preparation. "It takes a team. And that team includes oceanographers, people that understand currents. We're also looking at old records and charts. You're also trying to understand the forensics of it," he said. The process involves analyzing factors like ship speed and sailing patterns. Once located, the wrecks often don't match popular expectations. "We have great images that people think of as shipwrecks, but there are a pile of rockets and timber and anchor, and then you go, all right, what exactly am I looking at here," he said. In his book, Delgado describes the sea as "the largest museum on Earth" and argues that every shipwreck has a story to tell. "I think the most important thing for people to remember about shipwrecks is that it's okay for them to have different meanings," Delgado said. "Some people like them because they inspire you with the stories of bravery. Others are tragic and sad. For some, they're the graves of family. But for others, they're a great opportunity to dive and to explore." The archaeologist has also explored the Titanic, describing the experience as overwhelming despite the ship's fame. "Nothing prepares you for seeing 'Titanic,'" he said. After a 2.5-hour descent in a Russian submersible, with pressure so intense that "a regular styrofoam coffee cup gets squeezed down" when strapped to the outside, Delgado said the anticipation suddenly disappeared when the ship appeared. "There it was looming out of the darkness," he recalled. "This massive hull rising twice as high as the ceiling here. Still painted but streaked with rust and rusticles that are orange and yellow and red. And then a porthole that's open and another closed." Delgado described one particularly eerie moment: "One of the spookiest moments — because 'Titanic' is a ship of the dead — is when I first looked through the porthole, 2.5 miles down, the lights — I could see a face looking back at me in the porthole. It was my own reflection." He reflected on the ship's enduring power: "This ship sitting on the bottom ruined and deteriorating still is the stage upon which some of the most powerful drama played out that we all know about with the shipwreck. And you're there." "The Great Museum of the Sea" is available wherever books are sold.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘I am full of joy': Africatown Welcome Center breaks ground
AFRICATOWN, Ala. (WKRG) — After years of planning and preparation, community leaders broke ground Monday on a new Africatown Welcome Center. 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.
