clotilda memorial
The Alabama Historical Commission is seeking qualifications for an artist commission that will honor the last known African captives trafficked to the United States through the transatlantic slave trade: the 110 individuals forced aboard the Clotilda, the last US slave ship. The memorial will pay homage to the lives lost during the _Clotilda_’s illegal slaving voyage of 1860, while also conveying dimensions of the survivors’ lives and enduring legacies. The memorial will celebrate the resilient and determined spirits of the Clotilda survivors amidst violent dislocation, enslavement, and discrimination, emphasizing their pride in their West African identities, values, and cultures, along with the families, institutions, and communities they created. It will preserve collective memory, honor heritage, and offer public space for healing.
The creative framework for the memorial will be developed through a collaborative process that will engage the community founded by the Clotilda survivors and other formerly enslaved people: historic Africatown and the expansive diaspora.