Africatown Heritage House, "Clotilda: The Exhibition”

By Gina Lanaux

When my sister-in-law was visiting from Maryland, we decided to go on a field trip to the Africatown Heritage House, a museum that houses "Clotilda: The Exhibition" about the survivors and descendants of slaves transported on the Clotilda, the United States last known slave ship, many of whom established Africatown. The exhibit lets visitors share the experience of the journey to and from Africa, bringing stories of the 110 captives, showing artifacts of the burned and sunken shipwreck, and exhibiting how strength, optimism, and resilience created the community of Africatown.

The exhibition has been curated, developed, and designed by the History Museum of Mobile, in conjunction with the local community and the wider descendant community, and also with consultations with experts around the country. Visitors can see and hear many primary-source reports and stories of individuals: their histories, their families, and their resilient spirit.  

The most moving part of the experience for us was being able to listen to the recorded voice of Cudjoe Lewis, who died in 1935 and was one of the last surviving members of the enslaved group.  Emma Langdon Roche who wrote Historic Sketches of The South (1914), interviewed Cudjoe and those recordings were preserved. Spoken in his African dialect, it was heartbreaking to hear what he went through but also inspiring in his fortitude. Historical documents, photographs, and interpretive text panels, along with the recordings, create a multi-sensory space that brings compelling stories to life.

Six rooms are curated in chronological order: West African Beginnings, features art objects on loan from museums around the country to help vivify West African customs of the captives. Mobile and the Slave Trade, where we see the first-ever model of the Clotilda, which demonstrates how it was refitted after it left Mobile so it could transport human cargo. Visitors are reminded that the institution of slavery created enormous wealth for some Americans and that the group aboard the Clotilda represents just 110 among more than 12 million men, women, and children who were trafficked to the Americas. The Last Voyage of the Last Slave Ship / Arrival in Mobile This room is a solemn, emotional, and evocative experience that reveals the horrors of the slave trade. The Establishment of Africatown This is a place to learn about the only community established and governed entirely by African-born Americans and to celebrate the accomplishments of the 110 survivors. It is a story of resistance and resilience, recounting how a group of former shipmates, unable to fulfill their dream of returning to Africa, established their “African Town” The Shipwreck of the Clotilda Here is where visitors find more than a dozen actual remnants of the Clotilda, recovered from the still-submerged shipwreck and on loan from the Alabama Historical Commission. Africatown Today and Tomorrow In their own words, descendants and other Africatown community members describe their experiences of growing up in Africatown in a video that plays on a continuous loop.

This museum is impressive, educational, and thought-provoking which causes us to reflect on our past but also to be hopeful for our future. The Africatown community is proud of their accomplishments and should be because this museum is world-class.  National Geographic has named it Best Museum Opening in 2023. Located at 2465 Winbush Street, in the northern part of Mobile, it is located in the heart of historic Africatown. This community dates to the 1880s and is adjacent to Mobile County Training School.

Open Tuesdays thru Saturdays 10 am till 5 pm, they ask for reservations and ticket purchases in advance. I highly recommend a field trip to visit the Africatown Heritage House. I suggest going in the late afternoon and having drinks and a good discussion about what you saw,  in one of the many downtown Mobile Restaurants that Scenic98 Coastal has written about.  It will be well worth your time!