The Oldest And Proudest Black Town Exists Because Of Him
Black History Year
PushBlack
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 November 2023
⏱️ 2 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Drive north, just outside of Mobile, Alabama and you’ll find Africatown. This historic, predominantly Black town is the incarnation of Africa in America and it wouldn’t exist without Cudjo Lewis.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Drive North, just outside of Mobile, Alabama and Yofi, Africa Town. |
| 0:07.0 | This historic, predominantly black town is the incarnation of Africa in America, and it |
| 0:12.8 | wouldn't exist without Kojo Lilis. |
| 0:17.0 | This is too many black history, what you didn't learn in school. |
| 0:26.3 | Audrey Lorde is quoted as saying, we are powerful because we have survived, and that is what |
| 0:31.6 | it is all about, survival and growth. |
| 0:34.4 | A loyal Kosolo, known as Kojo Lilis, defines black power, survival, and growth. |
| 0:41.8 | Born are the irroba people. |
| 0:44.0 | Kosolo's comfortable life abruptly ended in 1860. |
| 0:48.8 | Though importing kidnapped Africans into the Americas had been illegal for decades, Kosolo |
| 0:55.6 | was abducted from the army and sold into the hands of Timothy Mayer. |
| 1:01.8 | Kosolo's name was changed to Kojo Lilis while enslaved. |
| 1:05.7 | He toyled for Mayer for five years on his steamboats until the emancipation proclamation. |
| 1:11.1 | Lilis wished to return to Africa, leading others held captive with him, Lilis attempted |
| 1:17.4 | to receive reparations to fund the journey. |
| 1:21.4 | Denied his due reparations, Lilis didn't let his circumstances stop him. |
| 1:27.6 | Unable to return to Africa, he and the others pulled their collective wealth, and bought |
| 1:32.4 | land from their former enslaver outside Mobile, Alabama. |
| 1:36.5 | Thus, Africa Town was born, a self-governing refuge for the formerly enslaved. |
| 1:48.2 | Kojo Lilis had everything stripped from him. |
| 1:51.3 | He didn't let that deter him from making the most out of what they had. |
| 1:56.9 | His resilience and self-determination changed the lives of those around him. |
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