Clotilda descendants mark anniversary of last slave ship
Descendants of the last African people abducted into slavery and brought to America's shores gathered to pay tribute to their ancestors
MOBILE, Ala. -- Descendants of the last African people abducted into slavery and brought to America's shores gathered over the weekend on the banks of an Alabama river to pay tribute to their ancestors.
The descendants of the 110 people aboard the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring enslaved African people to the United States, held a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the vessel's arrival.
Dressed in white and walking slowly to the beat of an African drum, the descendants made their way to the banks of the Mobile River near Alabama's coast. A wreath of white, yellow and red flowers was carried into the river by a kayaker and released into the waters.
The event marked the anniversary of the ship arriving 162 years ago with 110 enslaved people brought to the country against their will, Darron Patterson, president of the Clotilda Descendants Association, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
In 1860, the Clotilda illegally transported 110 people from what is now the west African nation of Benin to Mobile, Alabama. The voyage, which happened decades after the law banning the importation of slaves had taken effect, began as a bet when a wealthy plantation owner wagered he could import a shipload of slaves without being caught.
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