Dreams of Africa in Alabama

369 Pages·2015·3.27 MB·English

by  Diouf, Sylviane A.

Dreams of Africa
in Alabama
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Dreams of Africa
in Alabama
The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Story
of the Last Africans Brought to America
S Y L V I A N E A . D I O U F
2007
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Copyright © 2007 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available
ISBN 978-0-19-531194-4
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To the People of African Town,
Past, Present, and Future
To Sény F. and Mariam M. Kamara
I goes back to Africa every night, in my dreams.
—Ossa Keeby
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Known Africans Deported to Mobile on the Clotilda 6
1
Mobile and the Slave Trades 7
2
West African Origins 30
3
Ouidah 55
4
Arrival in Mobile 72
5
Slavery 90
6
Freedom 126
viii Contents
7
African Town 151
8
Between Two Worlds 182
9
Going Back Home 207
Epilogue 233
Appendix: The Numbers of the Illegal Slave Trade 241
An Essay on Sources 245
Notes 251
Bibliography 295
Index 329
Acknowledgments
I
FIRST CAME ACROSS THE STORY of the young people brought to Mobile
on the Clotilda in 1996. As I worked on other projects over the years,
I kept it in the back of my mind. Until one day I found myself in
Africatown, going over tombstones in deadly heat, and looking for
records in the middle of a hurricane.
As I researched and wrote this book in New York, Africatown, Mobile,
Washington, and all over Bénin, I spent much time with great people and I am
grateful for the assistance, encouragement, and support they gave me. I owe a
huge debt of gratitude to my friend, historian Elisée Soumonni in Cotonou,
for his wonderful hospitality and invaluable help, from translations to provid-
ing sources, from exciting discussions to critique. I benefited immensely from
Léon Degny’s research and knowledge, and from Roger N’Tia’s humor and
scholarship. My gratitude goes to all the informants who answered, patiently, a
tremendous amount of questions.
In Mobile, I am indebted to Michael V. Thomason, former Director of
the University of South Alabama Archives, where treasures are kept and shared
with enthusiasm. He has been a most knowledgeable and generous host, guide,
scholar, and archivist. Thanks also to archivist Carol Ellis, and to Thomas
Ashby. At the Mobile County Probate Court, the wonderful Collette King
went out of her way, even scouring the attic, with extraordinary warmth and
passion, to help me find precious records, and I am deeply grateful to her.
Henry C. Williams, Sr., shared his memories of Cudjo Lewis and his knowl-
edge of Africatown. Lorna Woods and Dr. Dorothy Ford, both direct descen-
dants of the Clotilda Africans, contributed their time, research, and recollections.
I appreciate all the help I got from Charles J. Torrey III of The Museum of
Mobile, Nancy Dupree of the Alabama Department of Archives and History,
and Pamela Major of the Mobile Municipal Archives.
Curator Joellen P. ElBashir, at the Manuscript Division of the Moorland-
Spingarn Research Center, Howard University in Washington, D.C., has been
superbly gracious and obliging. I have also been greatly helped by her colleague,