A former Kentucky New Era reporter has written a book on the history of a south Alabama community founded by men, women and children who arrived in the United States on the final slave ship that came to the south only a few years before they’d be freed.
Nick Tabor, who also formerly wrote for New York Magazine and now works as a freelancer, says the 110 West Africans were illegally brought to America and had no way to return to their home when they were freed five years after their arrival. They then created their own communities with their own leaders and culture in Mobile County, Alabama.
In the book titled Africatown: America’s Last Slave Ship and the Community It Created Tabor makes the case that environmental racism and other factors has left that community with issues that need to be addressed.
Readers will learn about a part of American history they may not be otherwise acquainted with and understand how social and societal factors can impact long-term outcomes in a community.
Tabor moved to Mobile and worked on the project exclusively for two years.
You can buy the book on Amazon, Bookshop or any other favorite bookstore.
Listen to our entire interview with Tabor below: