Anna-Maria Stratman, 79, grew up hearing stories about her ancestor Cudjo Lewis, an African captive brought to Alabama aboard the Clotilda who later helped found Africatown. “I was just so surprised that they could find that ship,” says Stratman. “It relieves your mind.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY ELIAS WILLIAMS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Hope swirled through the packed gymnasium of the aptly named Robert Hope Community Center in the Africatown neighborhood of Mobile, Alabama on Thursday, as some 500 residents and descendants of the last known Africans brought in bondage to the United States listened to archaeologists and politicians discuss the discovery of the long-lost slaver Clotilda—and, more importantly, how the historic find might help heal old wounds and attract new investment. Read Full Article