With the Clotilda Descendants Association combining its two largest events into a one multi-day celebration, the July 4 weekend is sure to be a huge success for the Africatown community and its supporters.
The CDA has hosted a Spirit of Our Ancestors Festival in the early part of the year and a Landing event in July in previous years. While the Landing has been a more solemn, religious occasion honoring the events of July 1860, when the slave ship Clotilda unloaded what is said to have been the final shipment of Africans taken into slavery in the United States, the festival has functioned as a joyous communal gathering.
The celebration has been moved this year to the same weekend in July as the Landing, which falls on July 4. LEAF, which stands for Landing Event and Ancestor Festival, is the new name given to the combined celebrations.
According to Chanelle Blackwell, chair of the LEAF Committee, some major events in recent years have raised the decades-long campaign to preserve the heritage of the Clotilda survivors and to sustain the Africatown community currently inhabited by their descendants. These include the award-winning documentary Descendant, which was supported by Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production business, and the scientific confirmation that the debris of the Clotilda had been discovered in the Mobile River.
However, she noted that the fight against issues like pollution and industrial encroachment is still difficult and calls for constant attention and emphasis. The LEAF umbrella was developed in part to increase the impact and participation in the annual festival and the Landing event.
“I do believe the trend is positive,” she said, adding that much more needs to be done to counteract decades of neglect and degradation.
Last year, we were thrilled to have [author] Michael Harriot speak, and this year, we’re thrilled to have [New York Times journalist] Jamelle Bouie. Having those voices is crucial for us.
There are some events and get-togethers planned for the descendants of Clotilda survivors during the weekend. It does, however, also include a lot of public events. They are:
July 3, Thursday, 1–4 p.m. There will be a Clotilda Descendants Association meet and greet at Mobile’s Africatown Heritage House, located at 2465 Winbush St. Visit Clotilda.com for complete details about the Heritage House, including hours, exhibits, and ticketing information. Residents of Mobile County are admitted free of charge, although due to capacity constraints, timed admission permits are needed.)
July 3, Thursday, 6–9 p.m. Kazoola, located at 558 Dauphin Street, will host a Descendant Celebration Reception.
July 4th, Friday The Hope Center, located at 850 Edwards St., and the nearby Mobile County Training School serve as the venues for the Ancestor Festival and CDA Environmental Justice Summit. It’s free to enter. The event will continue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; immediately after noon, Clotilda descendent Assata de la Cruz and Ramsey Sprague of the Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition will conduct the Environmental Justice Summit.
July 4, Friday, 6 p.m. The Admiral hotel, located at 251 Government St., will host the Protect Truth Summit, which will include journalist Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times. The subject of Bouie’s speech will be American democracy and journalism. Tickets are $50 for the general public, $10 for Africatown residents, and free for descendants of Clotilda survivors. Space is limited. Go to the Clotilda Descendants Association website to learn more about tickets.The event is co-sponsored by Kinfolkology, a group that integrates data about slavery, the lives of enslaved people, their communities, and their descendants using modern research methods.
July 5, Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The landing ceremony will take place at 101 Bay Bridge Road, beneath the Africatown Bridge. As we assemble at the historic location beneath the Africatown Bridge to commemorate the history of our ancestors and to celebrate the continuous journey of recollection, resilience, and rebirth, organizers say the public is welcome to join them for a stirring morning ritual. Visitors are asked to RSVP to aid in planning, but there is no attendance cap or ticketing required.
July 6, Sunday, 10:45 a.m. Union Missionary Baptist worship, located at 506 Bay Bridge Road, will host a worship service featuring descendants. Everyone is welcome to attend, according to the organizers. We advise you to arrive early because seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis up to the church’s capacity.
Check out the Clotilda Story’s event directory for additional details.
More on Africatown and the Clotilda:
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How Mobile is confronting its racial past in an era of erasure
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Clotilda legacy: Long-awaited $5.1 million Africatown Welcome Center construction project underway
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Rail project clears federal review despite concerns in Africatown community
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Africatown to get new Welcome Center after decades-long wait
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Owambe Black History Month Festival offers free events in Africatown
