{"id":9,"featured":0,"modified":"2023-05-27 22:22:34","latitude":30.7320364138953,"longitude":-88.0598872364356,"title":"Bust of Cudjoe Lewis","address":"","thumbnail":"http:\/\/lanternwalk.mctswhippets.org\/files\/square_thumbnails\/362a9311e1995964d41aea0381d7e9b7.jpg","creator":["Mobile County Training School Alumni Association"],"description":"<p><strong>Cudjoe \u201cKazoola\u201d Lewis<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>c.1840-1935<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Last known survivor of the last known slave ship to enter the United States<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Circa 1859, Cudjoe Lewis, a native of the Yoruba tribe in what is now the West African country of Benin, was one of over a hundred African men and women purchased and brought across the Atlantic to Mobile, Alabama, aboard the slave ship <em>Clotilde<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n<p>After a period of de facto slavery, Mr. Lewis and other members of the <em>Clotilde<\/em> group became free and organized a community in Plateau, part of today\u2019s Africatown Historic District. They formed a self-governing society and established the Old Baptist Church, which is now known as <a href=\"https:\/\/lanternwalk.mctswhippets.org\/items\/show\/5?tour=1&index=5\">The Union Baptist Church<\/a> of Plateau.<\/p>\r\n<p>Mr. Lewis married Celia \u201cAbile\u201d Lewis, another <em>Clotilde<\/em> survivor, with whom he had several children. He was known for working diligently to keep and share the group\u2019s epic history.<\/p>\r\n<p>Upon his death, he was laid to rest in the nearby <a href=\"https:\/\/lanternwalk.mctswhippets.org\/items\/show\/6?tour=1&index=6\">Old Plateau Cemetery<\/a>, where a commemorative marker may be found.<\/p>\r\n<p>This memorial, honoring Mr. Lewis and the survivors of the <em>Clotilde<\/em>, was made possible through the efforts of The Union Baptist Church and the generosity of donors spanning race and creed. May the example set by Cudjoe Lewis and the <em>Clotilde<\/em> group inspire all citizens of humanity to choose preserverence and hope in the face of tremendous adversity.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u2014 Sculpted by April Terra Livingston in 2016 \u2014<\/p>","sponsor":"","subtitle":"","accessinfo":"","lede":"The plaque reads:","website":"","related_resources":[],"files":{"http:\/\/lanternwalk.mctswhippets.org\/files\/fullsize\/362a9311e1995964d41aea0381d7e9b7.jpg":{"id":16,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","title":"Sculpted bust of Cudjoe Lewis","thumbnail":"http:\/\/lanternwalk.mctswhippets.org\/files\/square_thumbnails\/362a9311e1995964d41aea0381d7e9b7.jpg","description":"Photographer unknown \/ Sculptor: April Terra Livingston"}}}