Ghanaian Pioneers: Cudjo Lewis of AfricaTown, USA

**I've always believed Cudjo Lewis of Africa Town, USA was really a Ghanaian native who was taken to Benin as a slave and not a Benin native…the following goes some way to prove this….enjoy and google him…


AfricaTown, USA
AfricaTown is the site in Mobile, Alabama, along the Gulf Coast where the last cargo of Africans landed in 1860. Their landing marked the last recorded attempt to import Africans to the United States for the purpose of slavery.

The history of AfricaTown, USA, originated in Ghana, West Africa, near the present city of Tamale in 1859. The tribes of Africa were engaged in civil war, and the prevailing tribes sold the members of the conquered tribes into slavery. The village of the Tarkbar tribe near the city of Tamale was raided by Dahomey warriors, and the survivors of the raid were taken to Whydah, now the People's Republic of Benin, and put up for sale. The captured tribesmen were sold for $100 each at Whydah. They were taken to the United States on board the schooner Clotilde, under the command of Maine Capt. William Foster. Foster had been hired by Capt. Timothy Meaher, a wealthy Mobile shipper and shipyard owner, who had built the schooner Clotilde in Mobile in 1856.

As secessionist fever was spreading through Alabama in the 1850s, there was much talk of reopening the African slave trade, which had been outlawed since 1808. It was in this setting that Meaher and Foster planned the Trans-Atlantic voyage of the Clotilde for the purpose of bringing an illegal cargo of slaves back to Mobile.

By the time the Clotilde arrived in Mobile, federal authorities, having heard about the illegal scheme, were on the lookout for it. Captain Foster entered Mobile Harbor on the night of July 9, 1860. He transferred his slave cargo to a riverboat and sent them up into the canebrake to hide them. He then burned his schooner and sunk it.

The Africans were distributed to those having an interest in the Clotilde expedition, with 32 settling on the Meaher property at Magazine Point, three miles north of Mobile. This formed the nucleus of what came to be known, and still is known, as AfricaTown. Cudjoe Lewis was among that group.

In a federal court case in 1861, US v. Byrnes Meaher, Timonthy Meaher, and John Dabey, the three were charged with importing 103 natives of Africa for the purpose of slavery in the United States on the schooner Clotilde. The case was dismissed because the Federal Court could not prove the involvement of Timothy Meaher in this plot, but there was a strong implication that the case was dismissed because of the beginning of the Civil War.

After the Civil War, the original group of intended slaves was joined by a number of their fellow tribesmen. For decades they continued speaking their native tongue, had disputes arbitrated by their tribal chieftain, Charlie Poteete, and had their illnesses treated by the African doctor, Jabez. Up until World War II, AfricaTown remained a rather distinct community in Mobile County.

AfricaTown is unique in that it represents a group of Africans who were forcefully removed from their homeland, sold into slavery, and then formed their own, largely self-governing community, all the while maintaining a strong sense of African cultural heritage. This sense of heritage and sense of community continues to thrive today, more than 140 years after the landing of the Clotilde in Mobile Bay.

Cudjo Lewis (Kazoola), the last living descendant of AfricaTown, left us his account of the war between the tribes in West Africa, the selling of Africans to be brought to Mobile on the Clotilde, and their voyage to AfricaTown.

When the original group of settlers dwindled because due to death, the remaining AfricaTowners would gather on Sundays after church at one of their homes to discuss the group's welfare. Of the remaining number, Lewis was the best known, perhaps because he lived the longest (d. 1934) and was the most ebullient and talkative of all, giving interviews to the many writers who focused their work on AfricaTown during the early 1900s.

The AfricaTown Community Mobilization Project was formed in February 1997 with the purpose of establishing an AfricaTown Historical District, and encouraging the historical restoration and development of the site.

The Local Legacy project includes 16 pages of text, 11 color photographs, a map of the AfricaTown district, newspaper articles, information on the AfricaTown Mobilization Project, and a videotape, "AfricaTown, USA," made by a local news station.

Originally submitted by: Sonny Callahan, Representative (1st District).

(Credit: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/AL/200002671.html)

Sports & Society: Ex President of Ghana, General I.K Acheampong’s grandson, Charlie Peprah of Green Bay is interviewed by Newd Magazine….

Be inspired….
Title: Charlie Peprah: Ghana Nobility Now Dallas Royalty

Green Bay Packer Charlie Peprah is of Ghanaian nobility. And yet, the royal treatment he's receiving in his hometown Dallas, Texas has far less to do with his African lineage and more to do with the game he's played since childhood.

Peprah's friends, family, and high school buddies will be shouting his name from the stands as he takes the field alongside Packer teammates at Super Bowl XLV this Sunday.

The 15 complimentary tickets allocated to him for his own personal "rah rah" section are all spoken for. His girlfriend, a nursing school graduate in Dallas, his mother Elizabeth and father Josh will be among the throng.

"It feels great. It's cliché but it's a dream come true," said Peprah. "My friends and family get to see me. Not only that, I get to come home and I'm a starter....so it's definitely a dream come true."

Peprah's nobility is traced back to his maternal grandfather, Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, who was once Lieutenant Colonel of the West African nation of Ghana. Acheampong took over the democratically elected government of the Progress Party and its leader Dr. Kofi Busiain in what accounts call a "bloodless" coup in 1972. At that time, Ghana's government leaders had been accused of economic mismanagement and corruption.

                                                            General I.K Acheampong

Acheampong established the National Redemption Council, which later became the Supreme Military Council, of which Acheampong was promoted as general. Many agree that he made some positive changes to the nation's administration and economy.

He introduced the change from the imperial to the metric system of measurement, he started a program aimed at self-reliance in agriculture called "Operation Feed Yourself" and a plan for "National Reconstruction" aimed at lowering unemployment and increasing skill in Ghana's workforce.

For six years, his regime - comprising military leaders, not elected officials - ran government branches.

However, in 1978, his rule would come to an end; then, one year later, he would be executed by firing squad at the hands of Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings - Ghana's military leader from 1981-1982 and elected president from 1993-2001.

Chaos ensued. Peprah's mother, father and older brother, Kwabena, escaped Ghana for their own protection. After a stint in Europe, they moved to the U.S., settling in Texas.

"I never had the honor to meet him," said Peprah. "But, it's pretty cool to have that in my family history."

Peprah was born in Fort Worth, just four years after his grandfather's death. He was raised in Plano - one of the 12 suburbs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

"I used to take him to his games and I saw the talent from a young age," said Peprah's cousin, Kobui Darfi. "He was one of the smallest kids on his team, but it was so hard to take him down."

Peprah played tailback at Plano East High School and recalls that, regardless of football, he would dare not slack on his academics - knowledge that came from the strictures of a traditional Ghanaian upbringing.

"I remember my mom telling me, 'You better do your homework or you won't play football,'" said Peprah. "My parents didn't play about education."

Nevertheless, as Peprah thinks back on his life's journey from Texas to University of Alabama (where he earned both a bachelor's and master's degree), getting drafted by the New York Giants, then finally making his home with the Packers, he feels one sentiment -- blessed.

"When I go back to visit [Ghana], there's such a gap between the haves and the have nots," said Peprah. "I learned at a very young age that I had to work hard for everything, so every opportunity given to me in the States is definitely a blessing."

Because of his roots, Peprah tries to avoid the pitfalls of his profession in America: namely, groupie drama.

"You have to pick out the women who have hidden agendas," said Peprah. "There's a lot of fun to be had, especially with the money we make and the free time that we have. There's a lot of trouble you can get into out there, but you just have to be smart."

And not only does he have his strong African roots to thank for his level-headedness, Peprah practices his faith on the road.

"He's my Lord and Savior and, without him, none of this would be possible," said Peprah. "Some guys are more vocal than others, but it's great to be able to use my platform to show the talent He's given me."

(Credit: Text & photos all courtesy of: http://www.newdmagazine.com/apps/articles/web/articleid/72167/columnid/5466/default.asp)