В Алабаме строят новый центр притяжения для исторического сообщества Африктаун

Africatown Welcome Center: From Clotilda discovery to a new gateway for the community MOBILE, Ala. (NBC 15) — For decades, Africatown has waited for a place that could help tell its story. Now, that vision is becoming a reality. The Africatown welcome center is being built on Bay Bridge Road, designed to serve as a gateway into the historic community. "Now, where as we have the physical building, we have to now focus on the interior of the building so when a visitor is there, they're truly immersed in the story," District two Councilwoman Samantha Ingram said. "So that means with Watermark Design Group we will now move into the design, internally, in terms of laying out the design. They're going to figure out the design, they will work with other consultants to support in that design, but most importantly they will also take the work of the community to guide what happens in terms of the design for the interior." But the history this center will tell started before construction. In 2019, the discovery of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring captives from Africa to the United States, brought new attention to the Africatown community and its history. The story of the Clotilda has already found a home in Africatown. The Africatown Heritage House features Clotilda: The Exhibition, with displays centered on the ship and the people who survived its voyage and went on the build Africatown. But, city leaders say the welcome center is supposed to take the experience a step further. "You want to hear how the community was developed. You know, the workers, the churches, the civil rights movements and the things they went through as a community," Ingram said. "So, really, it's about the community and the development of the community." The city council approved a $4.6 million construction contract for the center in February 2025, and the goal is bigger than just having another building in Africatown. The center is expected to help direct visitors to other Africatown destinations, including the Heritage House, historic sites and water tours, connecting those destinations with the very, real human history behind them. "I'm excited because both contracts that have been approved, have been approved so with the consideration of community engagement," Ingram said. "So, throughout this process community engagement is built in so that, truly, it represents the people of Africatown." And as the project moves forward, residents say they want the story told here to be one that honors where Africatown came from, while showing people where it's going. Councilwoman Ingram says it's her hope that the center will be open by the end of this year, or the top of the new year, in 2027.