Africatown is on the banks of the Mobile River, in Alabama. The Clotilda was the last ship to bring slaves to the U.S.
Africatown
Mike Delaney, FAWM22-1
Refrain:
You can’t know where you’re going
‘Til you know where you’ve been
In the murky Mobile River
I snorkel ten feet down
Touch the last slave ship’s hull
Clotilda has been found!
My great-great-grand father
Spent two months in her hold
He couldn’t stand up straight
And in Alabama he was sold
Refrain
Clotilda scuttled and burned
The ship had to be hid
You couldn’t import slaves
Though that’s just what they did
But five years later
Union soldier sets him free
He founded Africatown
A hundred years later there was me
Refrain
Africatown was thriving
Twelve thousand of us and more
Many worked in the paper mill
And there were lots of little stores
But then they split it with a highway
And factories belching smog
We were left with nothing
A life not fit for a dog
Refrain
But I was the lucky one
After the army, got my degree
Kept at it; became a lawyer
Now I’m back on my old street
Gonna make my ancestors proud
We’re gonna have our say
And I’m not gonna stop
‘Til I make the bastards pay
Refrain
They call it environmental justice
I call it looking out for the needy
Have to do what’s right
Have to stick it to the greedy
The Clotilda gives me strength
I need it to persevere
I’m telling all who came before me
Thank you and we’re still here
Refrain
@bethdesombre Feb 2022
So glad you decided to tell this story! Nice job getting a lot of history into the song. I like the chorus and wonder whether making it a bit more melodically different than the verses might make it stand it even more.