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President Jeremy Ellis represents CDA at From Mobile to Selma and the Black Belt: Economic Upliftment and Conservation through Civil Rights, Heritage Travel and Ecotourism.
Last week, as the CDA representative, Jeremy Ellis was privileged to participate in the “From Mobile to Selma and the Black Belt: Economic Upliftment and Conservation through Civil Rights, Heritage Travel and Ecotourism.
Post CBS 60 Minutes / Request to meet with Mr. Heath Eckert and Ms. Robert Meaher
On Sunday, November 19, 2023, CBS 60 Minutes aired a historic meeting held between Clotilda Descendants Association (CDA) President Jeremy Ellis and members Patricia Frazier and Joycelyn Davis and descendants of Timothy Meaher, sisters Meg and Helen Meaher. This meeting took place on July 09, 2023, and was the first public meeting between the descendants of the 110 survivors aboard Clotilda and the descendants of Timothy Meaher, who commissioned Clotilda’s final voyage.
AFRICATOWN – Correspondent Anderson Cooper continues his reporting on Africatown, a community founded by the formerly enslaved men and women brought to Alabama on the Clotilda slave ship in 1860. The Clotilda is the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans to America and was found in 2018 in an Alabama river, a story first reported by 60 MINUTES in 2020. Cooper returns to Africatown to witness a historic meeting between the descendants of the enslaved Africans and the descendants of Timothy Meaher, the man who commissioned the Clotilda. This is a double-length segment. Denise Schrier Cetta and Katie Brennan are the producers.
CDA Officer Elections
On Wednesday, September 20th, the Clotilda Descendants Association held its annual elections for the upcoming year. Congratulations to our elected officers.
The Landing
On Saturday, July 8, 2023, at 8:15 AM CST, the Clotilda Descendants Association (CDA) presents The Landing, honoring the arrival of the 110 survivors of Clotilda.
The Landing is an opportunity for the descendants of the 110 survivors to honor our ancestors, preserve our culture, and educate future generations about descendants and the community.
The Landing will take place under the Africatown Bridge, and we are asking attendees to arrive at 8:00 am CST as the event will start on time. There is no address for the bridge, however, if you enter 101 Bay Bridge Road, Mobile Alabama 36610 via google maps, it will take you to the bridge location.
There will be parking available at Union Baptist Church. Shuttle services will begin at 7:30 AM CST from Union Baptist church to The Landing and run until the end of the program.
We are asking that all descendants wear white for this event.
Africatown Heritage House
PREMIERES THURSDAY, JULY 6 at 8:00PM
APT’s Randy Scott and Clotilda descendant Veda Robbins explore the back story of the new Africatown Heritage House.
Engaging Descendant Communities
CDA Treasurer Bill Green participated in the Sites of Conscience panel discussion spotlighting Clotilda Descendants Association and Africatown.
In post-conflict settings around the world, family members often play a galvanizing role in advocating for truth and justice for their loved ones lost to war and violence. In North America, through the use of family records, oral histories, and some formal documentation, descendants of enslaved communities have become powerful advocates for uncovering, preserving, and amplifying the history of their ancestors.
In this webinar, we will shine a spotlight on these dynamic communities – examining the importance of these vital groups and how Sites of Conscience can better engage and work with them today. We will be joined by Elizabeth Chew, of James Madison’s Montpelier, a representative of the Montpelier Descendant Committee, as well as Bill Green from the Clotilda Descendants Association.
Africatown Heritage House featured in Country Roads Magazine
In Mobile, Alabama, the new Africatown Heritage House honors the community built by the survivors of America’s last slave ship. Read more
CDA President Earns Scuba Certification
As part of the Africatown swim /scuba diving program, CDA President, Jeremy Ellis was able to work with Kamu Sadiki of Diving with a Purpose (DWP) and lead instructor Courtlandt Butts with DWP to get certified. Thanks to Anderson Flen and everyone involved with the Africatown swim/ scuba diving program.
Troy University Department of History
Full Circle
Once carried on a ship with Clotilda being her name,
One hundred and ten plus slaves unwillingly on a journey to never be the same,
Many, many miles across an unfamiliar sea,
Men, women, and children with gut wrenching and unimaginable pleas,
Battered, ignored, laughed at, and surely demeaned,
With only God to comfort them and their futures unforeseen,
Comforted and protected they were amongst one another,
They likened themselves as family and deemed as sisters and brothers,
Enduring beatings, bloodshed, and struggle, many still survived,
Creating love and community within their hearts, their spirits were revived,
Their plight to live and Cudjo’s ability to share his story,
All so amazing as he continued to give God the glory.
Now, a part of Cudjo is back home in Afficky where he longed to be,
Along with a Descendants Flag for the whole world to see.
It has been a full circle for Oluale Kossola and we are thankful.
Article and Poem written by: Dr. Maisha L. Jack ([email protected], 404-610-1506)
Descendants Flag Contact: Ms. Cassandra Lewis ([email protected], 404-625-9056
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
Johnson: Why do slave-ship Clotilda owner’s descendants still cower in silence?
AL.com | Updated Oct 08, 11:32 AM; Posted Oct 08, 7:27 AM
How the Last American Slave Ship Could Remake the Reparations Debate
BY TOBIAS CARROLL / OCTOBER 7, 2019 8:00 AM
September 2019
June 2019
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