The Clotilda

December 10, 2021

|In Black History in Two Minutes (or so), Season 2

Be Woke Presents Black History in Two Minutes (or so)

In 2019, researchers were able to properly authenticate the last known slave ship to enter the United States illegally. That ship, The Clotida, was found in the Mobile River in Southern Alabama.

A slave trader named Timothy Meaher arranged with a king in an African nation to purchase one hundred slaves and transport them to Alabama. With treacherous conditions and little food, those who survived would be enslaved until the formal emancipation efforts commenced. While emancipation meant freedom on paper, freed slaves quickly learned that their efforts were best served creating their own community called Africatown.

In this episode of Black History In Two Minutes or So hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., with additional commentary from Imani Perry of Princeton University, we take a look at an important piece of history that tells the story of the last known slave ship to enter the United States.

Black History in Two Minutes (or so) is a 4x Webby Award winning series.

If you haven’t already, please review us on Apple Podcasts! It’s a helpful way to for new listeners to discover what we are doing here: Podcast.Apple.com/Black-History-in-Two-Minutes/

Archival Materials Courtesy of:
• Alamy Images
• Associated Press
• Everett Collection, Inc.
• Getty Images
• Library of Congress

Additional Archival by:
• Mobile Public Library Digital Collections
• The Morning Call

Executive Producers:
• Robert F. Smith
• Henry Louis Gates Jr.
• Dyllan McGee
• Deon Taylor

Senior Producer:
• William Ventura

Series Producers:
• Chinisha Scott
• William Ventura

Executive in Charge of Production:
• Robert L. Yacyshyn

Post Production Supervisor:
• Veronica Leib

Post Production Coordinator:
• Katherine Swiatek

Written By:
• Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Additional Writing:
• Kevin Burke
• Kelsi Lindus
• Chinisha Scott
• William Ventura

Editors:
• Margaret Metzger
• Anne Yao

Producer:
• Kevin Burke