Dreams of Africa in Alabama: The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Story of the Last Africans Brought to America

It's hard to say I loved this book because it upset me terribly reading about these Africans' lives before they were kidnapped and after they were enslaved. It was fascinating learning about the different African sects and their ways of life. It was very distressing to read the truth about their lives in America. I was appalled to realize I'd never been taught this history decades ago in school. I was impressed by the way the freed Africans established their own town -- "Africatown" -- and lived in harmony though the odds of their success were hampered at every turn by Whites. IMHO this should be required reading for every high school student.

Impeccably researched, very well-written book exploring how it happened that the last slave ship came through the port of Mobile, Alabama in the summer of 1860. As it happened, a scofflaw businessman from Alabama decided to hedge his bets in covertly bringing in slaves from Africa on the slave ship Clotilda in defiance of laws outlawing international slave trade. This is a splendid account of the slave ship Clotilda and its 110 women, men and children who were delivered into an already existing slave community. The author covers how these slaves handled life after emancipation in 1860 and tried, but failed, to return to Africa and then started a settlement later called Africatown, which makes the book also one fit for anthropological study on how these last slaves held onto their customs and social systems and language into this century despite the fact that the final Clotilda survivor passed away in the 1930s.

While the book started out reading like a doctoral thesis, I ended up really appreciating the extensive, thorough research and the excellent writing. I read this for a nonfiction book club, and the main criterion for a thumbs-up from our group is whether or not we learned something. This book definitely fit the bill. "Dreams of Africa in Alabama" tells the story of the last slave ship that came to America and the stories of the Africans that settled in Alabama. They had a completely different experience than Africans that had been brought over earlier, and the book described these differences and how they interacted with each other, the "original" African Americans, and their owners. Interviews with members of this community highlighted many poignant stories about their capture, the passage to America, their initial experiences and their lives after emancipation. It was also well written, with extensive notes and bibliography.

Excellent book, very readable and highly informative of the details of the slave trade 'supply chain' and conditions of the time. I was particularly interested, in part because I once lived in Liberia. I am grateful for the insights to the West African culture and the lives of the people who suffered through this miserable experience.

I have to be honest, I struggled with this book in many ways. At times it was just too emotionally draining and at other times I felt it got bogged down in minutia. But even when I gave up on it, I'd eventually return and I'm glad I did. It's a story worth learning

Detailed information of the lives of Africans illegally brought to US just before the Civil War. It reports how they were captured, then what happened to this group after arriving in Alabama, and finally how they lived after freedom. It tells the stories of how these families and their descendants lived and survived into the twentieth century.

Fascinating account of the last slave ship to arrive in America. The discovery in January, 2018 of what is almost certainly the remains of the slave ship Clotilda near Mobile Bay will affirm the story of slaves brought in her hold. It would be the only ship besides the Amistead that has been discovered.

Well researched. This account not only chronicles historical fact, it gives concise insight into the culture of those who became brutally enslaved. This should be a staple for anyone interested in the body of literature on black history.

Necessary reading for historians exploring slavery, namely Africatown, Plateau, Mobile, Alabama.

The author presents a great deal of information with a fluid and sensitive writing style. This is a narrative with a lot of anthropological and historical information. The author discusses the nuances of the personalities and the possible motivations of many of the individuals. She succeeds in creating a sense of place.

It's hard to say I loved this book because it upset me terribly reading about these Africans' lives before they were kidnapped and after they were enslaved. It was fascinating learning about the different African sects and their ways of life. It was very distressing to read the truth about their lives in America. I was appalled to realize I'd never been taught this history decades ago in school. I was impressed by the way the freed Africans established their own town -- "Africatown" -- and lived in harmony though the odds of their success were hampered at every turn by Whites. IMHO this should be required reading for every high school student.

Impeccably researched, very well-written book exploring how it happened that the last slave ship came through the port of Mobile, Alabama in the summer of 1860. As it happened, a scofflaw businessman from Alabama decided to hedge his bets in covertly bringing in slaves from Africa on the slave ship Clotilda in defiance of laws outlawing international slave trade. This is a splendid account of the slave ship Clotilda and its 110 women, men and children who were delivered into an already existing slave community. The author covers how these slaves handled life after emancipation in 1860 and tried, but failed, to return to Africa and then started a settlement later called Africatown, which makes the book also one fit for anthropological study on how these last slaves held onto their customs and social systems and language into this century despite the fact that the final Clotilda survivor passed away in the 1930s.

While the book started out reading like a doctoral thesis, I ended up really appreciating the extensive, thorough research and the excellent writing. I read this for a nonfiction book club, and the main criterion for a thumbs-up from our group is whether or not we learned something. This book definitely fit the bill. "Dreams of Africa in Alabama" tells the story of the last slave ship that came to America and the stories of the Africans that settled in Alabama. They had a completely different experience than Africans that had been brought over earlier, and the book described these differences and how they interacted with each other, the "original" African Americans, and their owners. Interviews with members of this community highlighted many poignant stories about their capture, the passage to America, their initial experiences and their lives after emancipation. It was also well written, with extensive notes and bibliography.

Excellent book, very readable and highly informative of the details of the slave trade 'supply chain' and conditions of the time. I was particularly interested, in part because I once lived in Liberia. I am grateful for the insights to the West African culture and the lives of the people who suffered through this miserable experience.

I have to be honest, I struggled with this book in many ways. At times it was just too emotionally draining and at other times I felt it got bogged down in minutia. But even when I gave up on it, I'd eventually return and I'm glad I did. It's a story worth learning

Detailed information of the lives of Africans illegally brought to US just before the Civil War. It reports how they were captured, then what happened to this group after arriving in Alabama, and finally how they lived after freedom. It tells the stories of how these families and their descendants lived and survived into the twentieth century.

Fascinating account of the last slave ship to arrive in America. The discovery in January, 2018 of what is almost certainly the remains of the slave ship Clotilda near Mobile Bay will affirm the story of slaves brought in her hold. It would be the only ship besides the Amistead that has been discovered.

Well researched. This account not only chronicles historical fact, it gives concise insight into the culture of those who became brutally enslaved. This should be a staple for anyone interested in the body of literature on black history.

Necessary reading for historians exploring slavery, namely Africatown, Plateau, Mobile, Alabama.

The author presents a great deal of information with a fluid and sensitive writing style. This is a narrative with a lot of anthropological and historical information. The author discusses the nuances of the personalities and the possible motivations of many of the individuals. She succeeds in creating a sense of place.

very touching book, will be making a visit to Alabama to see their resting area.

Ms Diouf has researched her subject thoroughly. She adds a lot of context to the story of the last Africans to come on a slave ship.

Such a thoroughly researched and inciteful book that I plan to buy the author's other books as well.

This was a very i informative story. I enjoyed reading it and then shared it with our public library.

very good book!

Well written, and researched. The quality of the book was excellent

Makes that whole shameful period in American history "real". Loved the book.

Exactly as described, fast shipping and great quality.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was a wonderful story of longing to return home yet knowing that it would never happen. Having read Hurston’s Baracoon, I visited Africatown this summer. I only wish I had read this book before I made the journey.

Haven't read it as a gift for my son.

This book touched my heart, not only because I'm a decendent of one of the Africans brought to the US on the Clotilda, but also because Ms Diouf brought a hard to reality to the event and humanity to the lives of all those involved. Her massive volume of research gave irrefutable credence to her extraordinary ability to tell it "like it was".

Another good book on the realities of slavery and the courage it took to be a slave.

Very good

I enjoyed reading this book!!!

Delivery as expected and a great read.

Enjoyed reading.

This is an excelently crafted, informative book!

It is full of information I never knew about. Someone recommended it and I had to get it right away. I'm searching my ancestry.

Loved the read; very disturbing behavior toward this group that really makes you think...

Lots and lots and lots of details about the slave trade in the area the shipload came from. The author is very detailed oriented. With that said, clearly she researched it carefully and documented her conclusions from her research. Throughout the book, she cited her references and presented a very interesting case of a group of people who truly had minimal time to acclimate before slavery was abolished. Very interesting book.

I am a history buff. I loved this book. I highly recommend it,if history turns you on. Ashe' Ashe'

Recommend reading by everyone

My Great Grandfather is on the front

Very well researched and documented

I am an almost 80 year old,native Alabamian, son and grandson of Alabamians, who has several shelves of books on Alabama history. This may be the best. It's a great book.

I learned a lot from this book. It should be reuqired reading for all high school students in Alabama.

Was curious about this history. Great book!

Thanks for being so prompt. Exactly as described.

Everything came as promised on time.

I stumbled onto this book at the library. It is wonderful. I must reluctantly give it back, so I've bought my own copy with its wealth of end notes to go through and follow up on to draw back the curtain pulled over my own family's history. My paternal great grandparents were enslaved in Alabama. My father was born in Bibb County in 1917, when white mob violence was still a terrifying reality. To read Dreams of Africa in Alabama is to see clearly the mass incarceration, police brutality, and voter suppression happening today and to understand that these white supremacist tactics have been been used, with minor cosmetic changes, for a very long time. They weren't just dreamed up yesterday; they are from a standard playbook to be seen for what they are and responded to accordingly. I think this book is a gift to the people of this country no matter which continent their ancestors came from. It should be required reading for high school students everywhere, not just Black students in Alabama.. It teaches an important part of our nation's history. If we can learn and understand our own history, where we've been, we can find an honest and just way forward together.

I read this book in preparation to hear the author speak at a nearby university and was impressed with its thorough and detailed portrait that humanized an experience and a group of people who usually get lumped under the term "slave." While the style is academic and dense, it is also clear and concrete. The story is compelling and enlightening, as well.

Dreams of Africa in Alabama is a beautifully written and meticulous book. It's evident that Ms. Diouf spent a considerable amount of time and detail with her research. The author describes the Alabama slave trade and the events that lead to the maiden voyage of the modified schooner, Clotilda. She devotes two chapters to the lives of the "shipmates" - one prior to their capture and the other chronicling their imprisonment in the barracoons (slave pens) and their subsequent Middle Passage voyage. The remaining chapters recount the lives of the deported Africans during their enslavement and post emancipation. In 1808 the United States abolished the international slave trade. In order to circumvent the law, many Southerners modified existing ships to camouflage their true intent and evade naval officials. The Clotilda was one such ship. Seeking to make a profit on the sale of Africans, the Meaher brothers and their associates went about the business of arranging a slaving run. Many of the captured Africans were placed into slavery as a result of lost tribal wars and/or suspect alliances between African Kings and European and American merchants. When the humiliation and brutality of slavery was over, the shipmates endured Jim Crow, disenfranchisement and other forms of maltreatment. In spite of those obstacles, the Africans purchased land just outside of Mobile, Alabama, and became a self-sufficient community with a bank, farms, schools and churches. The shipmates limited their interaction with non-African people. Other than their contact with Americans and African Americans in the workplace, the Africans made little effort to interact anyone who wasn't from the continent in their personal lives. Intermarriages between Africans and African Americans occurred in small numbers. There were attempts to return to their families and homes in Africa; run-ins with the law; and a desire to dispel the rumors of their savagery and cannibalism. This book is a sobering and painful account of some of the atrocities Africans endured. Ms. Diouf interviewed the descendants of the Mobile, Alabama slaves, and poured over mountains of archives in libraries and private collections to give the reader an up close and personal view of the lives of the shipmates of the Clotilda. There are many more stories and details to be discovered when you read Dreams of Africa in Alabama.

For 300 years the Atlantic Slave Trade brought 12 million people from Africa to the New World. But in spite of the huge numbers of people who made the trip there have been only a handful of first-person accounts left by those who made that horrible trip. Most of the slaves lived and died without having a chance to tell their story. It was not until the advent of the Civil Rights Movement that much needed attention was finally given to one of the saddest chapters in American history. That makes Dreams of Africa in Alabama, The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Story of the Last Africans Brought to America such a welcome addition to the field of African-American and Southern history. In Dreams, Dr. Sylviane Diouf, who is the curator at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, tells the story of the last Africans brought to the United States on the ship Clotilda.The slave trade was outlawed in 1807, but that did not stop slave traders from bringing slaves into the United States. In 1860, the year before the outbreak of the Civil War, Timothy Meaher, a wealthy Mobile businessman from Maine, bet a group of friends that he could bring a shipful of Africans right into Mobile Bay "under the officers noses." He won the bet. The 110 people that Meaher brought from the kingdom of Dahomey on the west coast of Africa were named Oluale, Pollee Allen, Zuma, Ossa Keeby, and Cudjo Lewis, who would be the last of the shipmates to die in 1935. Slaves for only five years before they won their freedom at the end of the war, they failed in their quest to get back home and instead carved out a life for themselves in their own town outside of Mobile, Africa Town. Forgotten for years, their story is brought to life by Svlviane Diouf, who thanks to her outstanding research and writing skills brings to life the dreadful trip during the Middle Passage,and then the dehumanzing, backbreaking life of a slave in Alabama during the Civil War. Even years later, the shipmates would break down when they tried to talk about the trip on the Clotilda. Looked down upon by whites and other blacks as "savage Africans," a bias that would haunt them and their families into the 20th century, they lived through slavery, war,and Jim Crow and created the only town of its kind in the United States, a town founded and lived in by people who had been brought to this country as slaves from Africa. For 50 years, memebers of the shipmates' families and others have worked to preserve the history of Africatown and the story of the men and women who founded it. There is still much that is needed to be done to save that legacy before it is too late. Hopefully Dr. Diouf book will help to raise awareness about this important and little known chapter from American history.

I cannot recommend this book any more feverishly. It is incredibly well researched and written. The author lays down the historical facts in a clear manner and then leaves the characters to entice you into their lives and speak to you. The stories are never sensationalized, if anything, it is this lack of dramatization that enables the stories to unfold naturally. The book clearly shows how within a relatively short space of time certain aspects of a culture may vanish, but other aspects which form the core of a community's make-up are improvised regardless of the circumstances and continued down the line (the communal spirit of the Africans, reverence to authority, conflict resolution etc). Cudjo's life was the one delved into in the greatest detail and it evolved to be as remarkable as it was melancholic. After the last of the African deportees dies, I can only imagine the loneliness that would have haunted him - being alone in America, a land that he had lived in for three quarters of his life, but one that was still alien to him, one where no other local born Africans were in his immediate vicinity would surely have quelled his tenacious will and defiant spirit. For him to have lived the rest of his years, not being able to converse in his native tongue or to express his innermost feelings in a manner capable of being immediately understood by his neighbors would surely have been unbearably painful. There is an African proverb that states that "you know who a person really is by the language they cry in". When all he had ever known was gone and he lamented for them in his native tongue, I wonder, did the people around him understand the depth of his despair? After all his personal losses and tragedies in America, he finally relents of his desire to go back to Africa and surmises that he was indeed alone on earth - his family in America was no more and he figured that his family in Africa would also be no more - an unbearable set of circumstances to accept. The author should be commended for unearthing and bringing to life such a great story, but even more importantly, for doing so in as lucid a manner as is possible. My only question is how on earth do we let a story as remarkable as this just dawdle with no attempt to publicise it more. It would be great if we could have a children's book on the story. A trip to AficaTown in Alabama is in the offing for my family.