Hello my lovely readers!
While in the library last year, I picked this book up because I had already read Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston and had recently watched two documentaries about the survivors of the Clotilda and its lineage and legacy.
When I saw this book on the shelves, I knew I had to read it. Let's get into it!
SYNOPSIS
In 1860, a ship called the Clotilda was smuggled through the Alabama Gulf Coast, carrying the last group of enslaved people ever brought to the U.S. from West Africa. Five years later, the shipmates were emancipated, but they had no way of getting back home. Instead they created their own community outside the city of Mobile, where they spoke Yoruba and appointed their own leaders, a story chronicled in Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon .
That community, Africatown, has endured to the present day, and many of the community residents are the shipmates’ direct descendants. After many decades of neglect and a Jim Crow legal system that targeted the area for industrialization, the community is struggling to survive. Many community members believe the pollution from the heavy industry surrounding their homes has caused a cancer epidemic among residents, and companies are eyeing even more land for development.
At the same time, after the discovery of the remains of the Clotilda in the riverbed nearby, a renewed effort is underway to create a living memorial to the community and the lives of the slaves who founded it.
That community, Africatown, has endured to the present day, and many of the community residents are the shipmates’ direct descendants. After many decades of neglect and a Jim Crow legal system that targeted the area for industrialization, the community is struggling to survive. Many community members believe the pollution from the heavy industry surrounding their homes has caused a cancer epidemic among residents, and companies are eyeing even more land for development.
At the same time, after the discovery of the remains of the Clotilda in the riverbed nearby, a renewed effort is underway to create a living memorial to the community and the lives of the slaves who founded it.
MY THOUGHTS
I first read Barracoon in 2018 when it first came out and was so moved by Cudjo's story. Then I saw the National Geographic documentaries about the legacy of Clotilda and Africatown around the same time. So when I saw this book in the library, I was really looking forward to reading more about Africatown and what it looks like today.
I first read Barracoon in 2018 when it first came out and was so moved by Cudjo's story. Then I saw the National Geographic documentaries about the legacy of Clotilda and Africatown around the same time. So when I saw this book in the library, I was really looking forward to reading more about Africatown and what it looks like today.
That said, I loved about 75 percent of this book. Nick Tabor provided SO MUCH INFORMATION in this book and I definitely appreciated it. Honestly, this book did not read like a non-fiction/history book. Tabor really brought everyone in this book to life. His writing was clear and concise and hooked me from the beginning.
The last part of the book, Part IV, left much to be desired though. As a result of the meticulous information and data and statistics the rest of the book read more like a textbook. I actually ended up skimming the rest of it but this was a wonderful book and one that will stay with me.
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