About the Project
The Clotilda Memorial will honor the people—almost entirely children and young adults—who were the last known African captives trafficked to the United States through the transatlantic slave trade. This site of memory will encourage reflection on the history and legacies of slavery, while also bringing visibility to a community founded by Clotilda survivors: historic Africatown in Mobile, Alabama.
The memorial is a continuation of longstanding efforts to preserve and uphold the history connected to the Clotilda. It is with recognition and honor of this legacy that the Alabama Historical Commission has selected Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), Civic Projects Architecture, and Room For Magic to collaboratively facilitate the community-engaged design. This team specializes in designing with communities to advance public understanding of history and the surrounding world.
Please note that the above memorial description may be refined over the course of the community engagement process.
Why Now?
With the identification of the Clotilda’s wreck in 2019, the Alabama Historical Commission has worked to facilitate its preservation as a historically significant site and holds this artifact as an irreplaceable cultural treasure. This memorial is an extension of these preservation efforts to ensure that the history of the people connected to the Clotilda are maintained in the hearts and minds of generations to come. Africatown and North Mobile are in a moment of evolution. This memorial will serve as one part of a greater whole that will maintain the cultural richness that has persevered for generations.
Historic Bell at Mobile County Training School Levon Perry and Brenda Williams stand with a replica of the historic bell from First Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church on the campus of Mobile County Training School. Africatown residents rang the bell to announce births, deaths, community gatherings, and other significant events.
Image courtesy of Mobile County Training School Alumni Association
Bust of Oluale Kossola at Union Missionary Baptist Church A cast iron bust sculpture in front of historic Union Missionary Baptist Church honors Oluale Kossola/Cudjo Lewis (c.1841–1935), an Africatown leader and church co-founder who was trafficked aboard the Clotilda.
Photograph by Theo M. Moore II
Unveiling of Historical Marker at Lewis Quarters Descendants honor their ancestors during a 2025 ceremony to unveil a historical marker at Lewis Quarters, a parcel of land purchased by four Clotilda survivors and three US-born freedpeople in 1870.
Image courtesy of C.H.E.S.S. (Clean, Healthy, Educated, Safe, Sustainable) organization
Exploring the Clotilda’s Wreck Archaeological diver Kamau Sadiki, a lead instructor with Diving with a Purpose, prepares to join the 2019 investigation of the Clotilda’s wreck in the Mobile River.
Image courtesy of Alabama Historical Commission
Clotilda Mural in Africatown Africatown resident Labarron Lewis painted a mural depicting the Clotilda in 2017. It was located along US 90 near the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge; the chimney built by Clotilda survivor Gumpa/Peter Lee is visible in the background.
Photograph by Theo M. Moore II
Conservation of the Clotilda These sonar images track progress in the efforts to conserve the site of the Clotilda wreck over the course of three years.
Image courtesy of Alabama Historical Commission
Making the Memorial
Community Engagement Event Africatown residents and greater Mobile community members attend the Clotilda Memorial community engagement session held at the Robert Hope Community Center in Africatown, April 2026.
Photograph by Theo M. Moore II
1. Community Engagement
The foundation of the Clotilda Memorial is rooted in the collective voice and expertise of descendants and community members in Africatown and beyond.
Stories, experiences, and hopes for the memorial will be gathered and shared in a series of in-person and virtual collaborative sessions. The insights and summaries of these vital exchanges will be carefully channeled into the framework for the official Call for Artists, ultimately shaping the artistic expression of the memorial.
This commitment to shared memory and vision is a serious and determined effort to honor a profound legacy. As the project evolves, these powerful stories and memories will be shared with a broader audience through an accessible web platform, as an act of expanded historic preservation.
2. Call for Artists
The launch of the Call for Artists will be informed by the preceding community engagement process. This call is designed to be comprehensive, clearly articulating the project’s values, guiding principles, and objectives.
The process begins with a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) involving broad and targeted outreach to identify a diverse and talented field of artists capable of a commission of this significance. This initial phase is followed by narrowing the field to a shortlist of artists who will receive a stipend to develop site-specific designs through a Request for Proposals (RFP). These artists will participate in interviews to share their design intent.
A dedicated jury panel that includes local, regional, and national representatives and subject matter experts will then review the proposals and artist presentations, utilizing a co-created rubric that integrates the themes, expectations, and aspirations of the broader community. Selection of the artist proposal will take into account practical logistics while also a clear reflection of the memorial’s purpose.
3. Fabrication, Installation, and Documentation
Following the artist’s selection, a supportive and hands-on approach will usher the memorial’s execution, ensuring the project is delivered to the highest standards of quality. This phase encompasses all aspects of fabrication and installation, with the necessary flexibility to accommodate the unique requirements of an outdoor coastal climate.
Every step of creative problem solving will return to the established goals to arrive at an artwork that balances innovation with authenticity to create a meaningful, impactful design. The entire journey, from community voices to physical realization, will be digitally and artistically documented for posterity in a way that emanates care, honor, respect, and recognition.
A grand unveiling will be organized to invite celebration and reflection on how an understanding of the past is fundamental to our realization of the future.