From Clotilda to Community: The History of Mobile, Alabama's Africatown

FAIN: BH-272385-20

Spring Hill College (Mobile, AL 36608-1780)
Ryan Noble (Project Director: February 2020 to present)
Joe'l Lewis Billingsley (Co Project Director: August 2020 to present)

Two one-week workshops for 72 school teachers exploring the history of the slave ship Clotilda and the Africatown community in Mobile, Alabama, from the Civil War to today.

Spring Hill College (SHC) seeks funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for “The Past is Present: From Africa to Africatown,” a new five-day Landmarks of American History and Culture workshop to immerse K-12 educators of all grades in the history of the slave ship Clotilda and the post-Civil War community of Mobile, Alabama’s Africatown.

Associated Products

NEH Landmarks Africatown Video series (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: NEH Landmarks Africatown Video series
Writer: Ryan Noble
Writer: Joe'l Lewis Billingsley
Director: Ryan Noble
Director: Joe'l Lewis Billingsley
Producer: Ryan Noble
Producer: Conner Fincher
Producer: Joe'l Lewis Billingsley
Abstract: As a part of the process of moving the workshop to a virtual format, the workshop team produced a series of short videos on historical and contemporary topics about the Africatown community including quality of life indicators, historical perspectives, education, environment and more. The videos were shot in different locations throughout the Africatown community and allowed participants to virtually experience the physical space while engaging with the topics being presented.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSFwPmsc173evO-TXM2h1g7-pEagSqZbL
Primary URL Description: Youtube playlist of a selection of the videos produced for the workshop.
Format: Web

NEH Landmarks Africatown (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: NEH Landmarks Africatown
Author: Dr. Angelia Bendolph
Abstract: In this online curriculum, K-12 educators will learn about the history and the place known as Africatown. Last year, the discovery of the Clotilda was announced, the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans to the United States. This discovery made real the tale of those Africans and their descendants, some of whom still live in the village formed after the Civil War just outside Mobile, Alabama. Educators engaged with “difficult history” and the tools and strategies that will allow them to engage their own students. And, attendees created media projects as an expression of their own reflection about this encounter. The workshop represents an outgrowth of a documentary that workshop project co-directors Professors Ryan Noble (SHC) and Joél Billingsley (University of South Alabama), along with two additional faculty, began in 2018 titled “110: The Last Enslaved Africans Brought to America.” The documentary traces the journey of the Clotilda and concludes with the death of Cudjo Lewis in 1935, the last living person transported aboard the Clotilda and one of the founders of Africatown.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://springhill.catalog.instructure.com/browse/neh-landmarks-africatown
Primary URL Description: This link will allow you to enroll in a 5-part online curriculum in which workshop participants used during the workshop and will have access to for future reference. Link to Canvas enrollment: https://springhill.catalog.instructure.com/browse/neh-landmarks-africatown
Audience: Other

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