One hundred sixty-three years to the day after its arrival, a new museum commemorating the Clotilda, the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans to the U.S., has opened its doors. Located in Mobile, Alabama, the $1.3 million Africatown Heritage House, along with the accompanying "Clotilda: The Exhibition," debuted over the weekend with ceremonies honoring the ship, its survivors, and the enduring legacy of the Africatown community they founded.

The Clotilda's illicit voyage in 1860, over half a century after the importation of enslaved people was outlawed, was financed by Timothy Meaher. His descendants, who still hold significant land in the Mobile area, issued a statement in 2022 acknowledging the "evil and unforgivable" nature of Meaher's actions.

The museum provides a concise overview of the transatlantic slave trade, focusing on the 110 individuals who endured the harrowing 45-day journey from present-day Benin to Alabama. The exhibit features prominent figures like Cudjoe Lewis (Oluale Kossola), whose accounts in the 1920s offered invaluable insights into the Clotilda and its passengers. Matilda McCrear, the last known survivor who passed away in 1940, is also highlighted. Her story includes a daring escape attempt at the age of three, where she and her sister sought refuge in a swamp before being tracked down.

Jeremy Ellis, president of the Clotilda Descendants Association and a sixth-generation descendant of two Clotilda survivors, expressed his hope that visitors will gain a deeper understanding of this poignant chapter in history. The museum, he notes, not only tells the story of the ship and its passengers' first five years of enslavement but also celebrates the resilience and cultural richness of the West African people who built Africatown after emancipation.