Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
The Africatown Community, located in Mobile, Alabama, is best known for its connection to the U.S. slave ship Clotilda. This community was established by the very same Africans that were enslaved and brought to the U.S. illegally aboard the Clotilda in 1860. Since the establishment of the community...
Current and Upcoming Initiatives
- AHPF will lead the implementation and coordination of the Africatown Connections Blueway project started in 2016 by the Mobile County Training School Alumni Association with support by the National Park Service (NPS) – Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) and many other organizations.
News and Events
Descendants Post Screening Interviews
National Museum of African American History and Culture’s series, Through the African American Lens, sponsored a showing and panel discussion of the Descendants documentary, on January 7th at the Oprah Winfrey Theater. Panelists from the movie were interviewed in a post screening.
descendants on netflix
Descendant tells the story of the Clotilda - the last known ship to smuggle stolen Africans to America - the unthinkable cover-up, and the impact of that crime on generations of descendants living in Africatown. Once the past is revealed, can the future be reclaimed? Descendants of the enslaved Africans on an illegal ship that arrived in Alabama in 1860 seek justice and healing when the craft's remains are discovered.
The legacy that remains: Int'l Day Remembrance of the Slave
By: Lisa Washington-Sow from www.attheforefront.net
The theme of this year’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is "Stories of Courage: Resistance to Slavery and Unity against Racism." This theme recognizes how storytelling allows us to pass on history in relatable ways through varied perspectives – from pain and trauma to gains and motivation.
The transatlantic slave trade is one of the most detrimental events of human history. It deeply impacted communities of the Americas, Europe, and Africa through the forced migration of over 12.5 million persons. There is still a lot to learn from localized stories that foster understanding of people from all sides of the Atlantic. Read more...
National Trust Awards $1.6 Million in Grants to 27 Sites to Help Preserve African American History
2020 African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund Grant Recipients
On July 16, 2020, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced more than $1.6 million in grants to 27 sites and organizations through its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
Initiatives
Although the AHPF has many initiatives that it is currently working on as the Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation is built, one of its core pillars will be to foster healing for the community of Africatown, the larger Mobile Metro area, the state of Alabama and the world.
- The Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation speaks of healing on many levels: environmental, physical, emotional, etc.
- An initial step towards healing took place on August 25, 2019, when the Community of Africatown marked a national day of healing by ringing bells at 3:00pmEST in unison with bells at Fort Monroe National Monument, Old Point Comfort, to represent each century of African presence in the U.S. since 1619.
- Bells have great symbolic meaning to many societies. The national bell ringing celebrates the value, persistence, strength, and courage of our ancestors and enables all Americans to participate in a historic moment in the spirit of peace, freedom, and unity wherever they are and to share stories about the role Africans and their descendants in the history of the nation.