Intro: The Lantern Walk
A cultural rite of passage that existed only in Africatown
In November of 2022, our community came together to rebirth the tradition of this communal—and deeply spiritual—walk. It had not been celebrated for seven straight decades.
Before large systemic changes were foisted upon our town in the 1960s, education in Africatown was strongly rooted in the community.
The Lantern Walk was a tradition held at the close of every school year at the Mobile County Training School (MCTS). The recent graduates of high school gathered with their teachers in the sunken yard as dusk was falling. Each student, in turn, took a lantern in hand and proceeded in a clockwise formation to pay respect to the educators assembled who had gotten them to this point of their success.Then the students processed together, departing from the school grounds. They were making their way to the Old Plateau Cemetery—but that was not a direct route. They stopped along the way to give their thanks and respect to community members, as well.Finally, at the cemetery was a culmination of both their successes and gratitude. Among the gravestones, the students paid homage to the original founders of Africatown. For it was those ancestors who, as free people, had founded the first school.
There are many, many layers of meaning to the Lantern Walk. To touch on even most of them, you might need to sit for hours with an elder who can still remember walking it at graduation in the 1940s-50s! In the meantime, we made this tour to share a glimpse of why the Lantern Walk is so important to the history and self-determination of Africatown.
From the very start, you should know that the Lantern Walk embodies the importance of commemorating, treasuring, and honoring sacred places and the people associated with these sites. To any resident of Africatown who remembers it, the ritual of visiting each place on foot is a profound, humble, and personal reminder of the sacrifices that have been made for them. The journeyers were in a walking meditation about the higher responsibility we all have for helping out each other. We are reviving this tradition to remind ourselves, as well, of the importance of educating young people on their obligations to the past, the present, and future.
The lantern itself
Each journeyer in 2022 carried a lantern with them, just as students of Mobile County Training School did in the mid-1900s. Post-twilight, our outdoors are pitch-dark — streetlights in Africatown were unheard of. These lanterns, however, were far from utilitarian. What each journeyer carries is a symbol of their own inner light. To bring along the lantern to guide your way to these sacred spaces is to commit to sharing your light and talents with others.
In fact, once you know the history behind the early Lantern Walks at MCTS, you will realize that the lantern in your hand (and the ones in front of you, and behind you on the walk) are honoring the fact that your fire was lit by someone who came before you, and took up the responsibility to ensure they passed it on to you.
