Descendants of the Africans still live in a community in Alabama founded after they were released from slavery following the end of the Civil War in 1865. The head of a descendants organization says the group has been in email contact with the Meaher descendants recently.
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 22: A view from the African Slave Museum, which sheds light on dark history of slavery to its visitors, is seen on the occasion of International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition in Cape Tow
The Meaher family has started meeting with leaders of the community in around around Africatown, the community begun by the Africans in north Mobile after they were released from slavery at the end of the Civil War in 1865, the statement said. Patterson was president of the Clotilda Descendants Association at the time. The current president, Jeremy Ellis, said the organization had been in contact with the Meaher family by email since the NBC story aired on Sunday Today, and members hoped for face-to-face talks.
The Clotilda’s captain took his human cargo off the ship in Mobile and set fire to the vessel to hide evidence of the journey. The people, all from West Africa, were enslaved.