Clotilda Descendants Association hosts weekend of tribute events

MOBILE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — The Clotilda Descendants Association has a weekend full of events to honor the history and legacy of the Clotilda.

The weekend’s events kicked off on Friday with a meet and greet at the Africatown Heritage House.

People gathered just before 2 p.m. Friday to fellowship and take a tour of the Clotilda Exhibition . The Clotilda, discovered in Mobile in 2019, is the last known slave ship to enter the U.S. in 1860. Many descendants of Clotilda survivors attended the event including Landing Event ceremony co-chair Tiffany Pogue.

“To be a descendant means so much to me because it is a way for me to reconnect with myself and my ancestors,” Pogue said.

Patricia Frazier, a fifth-generation descendant of Kanko Lottie Dennison, who was aboard the Clotilda, said events like this are important for all Americans.

“People, I think, need to know everybody’s history. If this story is told, it makes American history more inclusive,” Frazier explained. “It’s important to us, specifically who are descendants because we’d like to keep our legacy alive. I am convinced that people who know where they come from have a better sense of where they’re going.”

The CDA is hosting its Landing Event Cocktail Reception at the Alabama Contemporary Art Center until 9 p.m. Friday.

Key speakers include activist Ramsey Sprague, best-selling author Michael Harriot and descendants of Clotilda survivors. Symone French and the Trouille Troupe will perform live.

“We are going to pour libations for our ancestors,” Pogue said. “We’re going to tell their stories, and then we’re going to lay a wreath in the water to honor what happened to them and to pay tribute to the legacy that they built.”

The Landing Ceremony will occur under the Africatown Bridge on Saturday from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. Descendants of Clotilda survivors will wear all white for the ceremony. There will also be a boat tour beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday.

On Sunday, there will be a church service with the descendants of Clotilda survivors at Union Missionary Baptist Church. The service begins at 10:45 a.m.

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