Africatown Graveyard & Union Baptist Church
A local cemetery that tells the story of an independent Black community is threatened by a major road development.
With him lie the other enslaved Africans and descendants of Clotilda who would help found Africatown, a Black township in Alabama with enduring ties to Africa. Today, the cemetery contains hundreds of graves, representing over a century of life in the community.
Photos of Cudjoe Lewis from Historic Sketches of the South.
Local advocates are working to preserve these places and build up sustainable heritage tourism infrastructure around the unique history of their home. World Monuments Fund (WMF) has partnered with the community to support these efforts and highlight key sites like the Africatown Graveyard.
WMF had the opportunity to speak with Africatown natives Darron Patterson, Joe Womack, and Anderson Flen for this piece. WMF also spoke to Vickii Howell, president and CEO of MOVE Gulf Coast CDC.
View of Africatown Graveyard (2011) by Leigh T HarrellWorld Monuments Fund
An integral part of the community’s heritage, the cemetery is now threatened by new roadwork and is in need of conservation.
Union Baptist Church (2017) by Amy WalkerWorld Monuments Fund
Africatown Graveyard sits across the street from Union Baptist Church, the oldest of the town’s churches. It was originally dubbed the Old Landmark Church when it was founded in 1869 by Clotilda survivors, including Cudjoe Lewis.
Mae Jones
Financial secretary, CHESS
A bust honoring Cudjoe Lewis now stands on the grounds of Union Baptist Church.
Tap to explore
Stone Street Baptist Church
Prior to establishing their own church, Africatown residents had worshiped at places like Mobile’s Stone Street Baptist Church, one of the most influential Black churches in Alabama.
Anderson Flen, who cofounded the Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation, remembers the different “personalities” of the town’s three Baptist churches and the distinct roles they played in the community when he was a child.
Tap to explore
Yorktown Baptist Church
"The school had the support of the families, of the church, of all the institutions. Of course, we did not have a gymnasium on campus until 1955, and so the graduations were held at other places like churches.… You had certain ceremonies and graduations and certain chorus concerts that took place at the churches that came from the school. So you had this intertwinedness; the church and the school and the community was just one."
Anderson Flen
Founder, Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Tap to explore
Union Baptist Church
"The churches especially during the summertime would have ice cream for the ones that attended, those little ice cream cups.… During the summer they had the summer Bible school. And then of course we had our own playground that we had carved out of the vacant land out there. And that field became a breeding ground for athletes in the community.… We've had a couple of them go onto the Hall of Fame, and a couple of other players that played on the World Championship team in baseball. And we had a Black Minor League team, and most of the Black kids in the area played out there on the field.”
Joe Womack
President and CEO, CHESS
Joe Womack
President and CEO, CHESS
Womack’s Sunday school teacher, Henry Williams, was a local historian who not only inspired the children in Africatown to take an interest in their town’s stories but tried to advocate for government aid in preserving the town’s monuments.
Mini museumWorld Monuments Fund
Joe Womack
President and CEO, CHESS
Africatown Graveyard was established not long after Union Baptist Church and became the final resting place for Africatown’s founding generation.
Grave of Elick Lewis, child of Cudjoe Lewis and Abile (Celia) (2016) by WomumpWorld Monuments Fund
“All headstones in the cemetery face east. And that was because they always wanted to go back home. If they had got in a boat, my money would've been on them.”
Darron Anderson
President, Clotilda Descendants Association
But the decision in 1960 for then-independent Africatown to become part of Mobile has had major consequences for the fabric of the community, including the cemetery.
As Mobile has redirected more traffic away from its core and towards Africatown, the once-peaceful area around Union Baptist has been flooded with large vehicles going at high speeds. Womack says the resulting vibrations are steadily damaging the headstones.
Tap to explore
This heavy traffic, says Womack, has proven dangerous not only for the graves but for parishioners attempting to cross the road to see them.
Union Baptist historic marker with bridge in background (2017) by Amy WalkerWorld Monuments Fund
Of particular concern is a proposed new bridge, which if completed would bring even more cars through streets that were not laid out to accommodate such large volumes of traffic. Soil erosion is another challenge that will cause continued deterioration if left unchecked.
Union Baptist historic marker with bridge in background (2017) by Amy WalkerWorld Monuments Fund
“In about 1960, when it became crowded, they bought another section next to it. And that's now the New Cemetery, but it just so happened that right in between that the road is eroding. There was a drainage ditch put right in the middle of it, and so when it rains a lot of time, the drainage ditch would overflow, and it actually overflows over the grave sites and runs down to the river. And so we may have lost a few bones going to the river.”
Joe Womack
President and CEO, CHESS
View of Africatown Graveyard (2017) by Amy WalkerWorld Monuments Fund
Since 2022, World Monuments Fund has been working with Africatown residents to create a management plan for historic sites like the cemetery that would tackle the multifaceted challenges they face.
Many envision the cemetery and the church taking on a central role in the revitalized Africatown of the future. Womack believes that the sites, once properly conserved, could be a hub of historic tourism to the area.
Members of a delegation to Africatown from Benin reading a plaque commemorating Cudjoe Lewis (2019)World Monuments Fund
Vickii Howell, who has organized an international design competition in the town, hopes that in turn Africatown can be a blueprint for other historic Black communities looking to strengthen their economic base through heritage tourism.
View of Africatown Graveyard (2017) by Amy WalkerWorld Monuments Fund
Delegates from Benin visit Africatown as part of a project to build friendship and economic cooperation with the diaspora.
Conserving the cemetery would also entail fostering the necessary craft skills, which could bring job opportunities to young people in the community.
View of Africatown Graveyard (2017) by Amy WalkerWorld Monuments Fund
“We wanna get to a point where the cemetery reflects the richness of the people who made Africatown, that when you see that cemetery, you’re just in awe. It's almost like a halo around it that says, ‘Wow, they really respect that their elders. And they're making sure their elders know that they care.’ That's what I want the cemetery to say.”
Anderson Flen
Founder, Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
