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This is where it starts.
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Altevese, Garry, Cassandra,
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and Delisha are descendants
trying to take their ancestors
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home to West Africa
for the first time
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in over 100 years.
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This is an opportunity
to reckon, to heal...
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Oh my God.
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...to honor.
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Is the
king saying my ancestor was
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not sold into slavery?
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This is
absolutely universal.
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This is all of our history.
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And that just feels
really powerful to me.
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Come on! Come on!
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Diving With a Purpose
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is a non-profit group.
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It's made up of predominantly
Black scuba divers who mainly
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have a passion for scuba diving.
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How do you want to start?
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But the part of
their work that I most connect
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to is this workaround
diving for slave shipwrecks.
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There were approximately
36,000 voyages that brought
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12.5 million Africans
to the Americas.
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We are
going to measure this wreckage.
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Most often,
we think of the people on
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these slave ships as cargo,
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as like faceless statistics...
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Welcome back!
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...but they were people.
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They were mothers,
daughters, husbands, sons.
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{\an8}They were princes.
They were kings.
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{\an8}They were farmers, dreamers,
scientists, teachers.
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They were all of that,
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but we don't often
see them in that way.
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And the
Clotilda is actually the only
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one of those ships to
have been found intact.
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This work to recover
that history is hard.
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But as I met descendants of
the ancestors on the Clotilda,
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and I saw the strength that
they got from connecting to
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that past, it's like, well,
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if they can do it,
maybe I can.
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Alright, y'all.
So where are we?
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{\an8}We are at
the monument of our ancestor,
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{\an8}Kossola Oluale.
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{\an8}Whose slave name
was Cudjo Lewis.
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{\an8}We're going to take some
soil in order to represent him
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{\an8}and take him home.
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Home for
Kossola was near the kingdom of
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Dahomey in West Africa,
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within what is
now known as Benin.
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In 1860, he was captured by
members of the Dahomey tribe,
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sold into slavery,
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and forced onto the last
known slave ship to America,
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the Clotilda.
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Kossola was only 19 years old.
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Kossola said that when
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he went onto the ship,
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there was a man
standing there, and he said,
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"Take your clothes off.
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You won't need this
where you're going."
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{\an8}And that right there,
taking his country cloth,
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{\an8}it just took
something out of him.
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Kossola and
109 captive Africans were
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confined aboard the Clotilda,
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all chosen and among
the last to enter the world
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of chattel slavery
in America.
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Under this brutal system,
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humans were
reduced to mere property,
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treated like cattle,
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and perpetually owned
under laws designed to
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enforce their degradation.
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Kossola, renamed Cudjo Lewis
and those aboard the Clotilda
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endured and
persevered through this
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cruel system for almost
five years in Mobile, Alabama,
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until they were freed in 1865.
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Their first wish?
To return to Africa.
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Their
plan was to work and to save
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their money and return home.
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But when
they go to pay for the ticket,
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the price kept rising.
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Unable to return home,
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the survivors of the
Clotilda brought home here.
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They purchased land from
their former enslaver and
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called it Africatown.
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They built a community
complete with houses,
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a school, and a church,
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establishing the first town
in the United States
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to be founded, controlled,
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and continuously occupied
by African Americans.
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Here, they could celebrate
their culture and preserve
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their memories of
home for generations.
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Cudjo, the Clotilda's
last male survivor,
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married, raised children,
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and passed down
his life story with a
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hand-drawn map
showing the path home.
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{\an8}His last
words were that he wanted
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{\an8}to go back to Africa.
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{\an8}He wanted to see his family.
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{\an8}He always say, I
want to see my mom.
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{\an8}I'm looking for a feeling when
we hit Africa for him to say,
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{\an8}"I'm home.
You did a good job."
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{\an8}Altevese,
what are you feeling?
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You mean,
what's coming back up?
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I'm very emotional because
this was what he always wanted,
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and we get to be
the ones that do it.
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That's a big deal.
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Because this is huge.
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This is something that has been
100-plus years in the making.
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- We got it. Yeah.
- Yeah.
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Remind me of that
when we're there.
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{\an8}Cause
we keep thinking that--
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{\an8}- It's just us.
- It's just us.
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{\an8}- Yeah.
- But we're not in this alone.
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No.
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So, we are gathering
soil from Cudjo's memorial
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to take back to Africa.
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In the African tradition,
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it is the women who
are to take and the men
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who are to give.
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It's a ritual
that serves throughout time,
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and it feels like that's what
we're about to do in Benin.
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This is something
for the ancestors,
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it's something for us,
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and it's something
for future generations.
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Delisha, does this exist for
you in your body anywhere?
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For me,
I'm not blood-related to Cudjo,
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but we are family,
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and that was the
spirit of Africatown.
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Delisha's ancestor was
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also on the Clotilda,
a royal prince named Gumpa.
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People are like, oh my God,
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you're royalty,
and I'm like, I'm really not.
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It would be nice,
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but there's a very
ugly side of that story.
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Gumpa was
a member of the royal family.
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He was related to the
king at the time, Glele.
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The same
king who ordered the raid
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on Cudjo's village.
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Gumpa did
something that offended him,
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{\an8}and the royal family
wanted to get rid of him,
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{\an8}and that's how he ended
up on the Clotilda.
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Betrayed by his own family,
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Gumpa emerged as a
beloved leader of Africatown,
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where part of his legacy
still stands today.
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The
last structure remaining from
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that time is Gumpa's chimney.
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It's a symbol of how the people
of the Clotilda came together.
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Yesterday, I was able to place
a couple of flowers out there,
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say thank you for
all the things that
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they endured and survived,
and dig up some of the soil from
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around the chimney.
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And I plan on taking
that back with me to Benin,
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and hopefully,
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I can leave
some of it in the palace.
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On some level,
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it's just you
honoring your grandfather.
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This is
our way of giving back.
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By them
fulfilling the long-ago request
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of their ancestor
and taking him home,
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I think it heals
something for all of us
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who will never
be able to do that.
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Before this reverse
journey begins,
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the descendants wish to
pay their respects to all the
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people aboard the Clotilda,
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whose stories may have
been lost but never forgotten.
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I was a little girl,
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and my father would
make us repeat the ship and
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the year that they
came over and over again.
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When the
Clotilda arrived in 1860,
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importing enslaved
people into the U.S. had
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been illegal for decades.
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So, after the captain
offloaded everyone,
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he burned and sank the
ship to destroy any evidence.
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One day,
I got tired, and I said,
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"Dad," I said,
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"why do we keep doing
this over and over again?"
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He say, "They think we don't
know what we saying because we
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don't have proof of a ship,"
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he say, "but it's out there,
and you always remember."
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For 159 years,
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the only evidence of
Clotilda's illegal voyage was
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the firsthand accounts
of its survivors.
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Then, in 2019, a
discovery was made.
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Yes, it is Clotilda.
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So all
of us said we don't have to
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pass it on to our
kids the way he did it.
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We can talk about it
because we got proof.
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We can
throw these flowers as a way
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to say thank you
to the ancestors and
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ask them for their protection
as they watch over us.
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For the ancestors!
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To the ancestors!
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We're going home.
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I think it's
going to be really emotional.
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And I just want to take it in.
I want to feel it in my heart.
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I think it'll make me whole.
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Going back
to Benin having a conversation
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with descendants of King Glele,
we are distantly related,
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so that brings up a whole
other set of mixed emotions.
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The hope is
that whomever we encounter on
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the other side is going
to be just as encouraged,
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just as joyful to
connect with us.
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As we are
trying to connect with them.
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This
is an opportunity and
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an experience to reckon,
to heal, to honor,
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and that just feels
really powerful to me.
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Benin, a small
gem in the heart of West Africa.
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Everywhere in this
vibrant country,
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echoes of its past are palpable:
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ancient kingdoms, revolutions,
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and independence
from France since 1960.
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00:13:26,764 --> 00:13:31,894
And the people welcomed us so
warmly as soon as we arrived.
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This is where it starts.
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{\an8}I'm excited!
We're here!
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{\an8}We're home.
We're, we're officially home.
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Welcome. Welcome.
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He says, "Welcome to
the land of your ancestors."
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Thank you. Thank you.
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Welcome! Have a nice journey!
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There's so many of us,
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{\an8}like my mom, my grandma,
my grandfather.
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We're not with only us.
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You know, we're
bringing everybody.
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We're
on our way to Ouidah,
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a coastal town that has
remarkably transformed from
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the busiest slave market in
West Africa to the spiritual
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00:14:30,786 --> 00:14:32,621
heart of Benin.
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Cudjo and Gumpa's
last steps on African soil
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00:14:36,584 --> 00:14:38,627
were here in 1860,
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00:14:38,711 --> 00:14:41,922
and it's where our
reverse journey begins.
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Standing on the shore,
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the weight of the
horror and injustices that
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awaited those torn from
their homeland washed over us.
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He was
being stripped from his home.
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He didn't know
where he was going.
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He didn't have any
family with him.
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He was being taken away
from everything that he knew
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{\an8}and that he loved,
never to see them again.
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They stole his family,
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and I'm mad as hell
that they did that.
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It took us 162 years
to get back here.
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They say
that the Atlantic is churning
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with these lost souls.
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1.8 million Africans died
in the middle passage.
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That's the crossing from
Africa to the Americas.
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00:16:39,748 --> 00:16:44,586
{\an8}Just in the crossing,
1.8 million people died.
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Overlooking Ouidah Beach
is a monument that represents
250
00:16:52,928 --> 00:16:55,848
The Door of No Return.
251
00:16:57,099 --> 00:16:59,309
There are many such "doors."
252
00:16:59,393 --> 00:17:03,439
Sometimes literal doors.
Other times, open spaces.
253
00:17:09,403 --> 00:17:13,699
They exist up and down
the coast where slavers from
254
00:17:13,782 --> 00:17:17,578
the Americas and Europe
loaded their ships with people
255
00:17:17,661 --> 00:17:18,871
who had been captured,
256
00:17:18,954 --> 00:17:22,124
kidnapped, bought, and sold.
257
00:17:32,134 --> 00:17:34,678
Cudjo and Gumpa came
from different parts of the
258
00:17:34,762 --> 00:17:37,056
warring Dahomey empire.
259
00:17:37,139 --> 00:17:40,684
One captured in a raid and
sold as a prisoner of war.
260
00:17:40,768 --> 00:17:43,520
The other betrayed by
his relative, the king,
261
00:17:43,604 --> 00:17:45,939
and given away as a gift.
262
00:17:46,023 --> 00:17:48,150
But today, they
return together,
263
00:17:48,233 --> 00:17:51,820
carried symbolically
by their descendants.
264
00:18:03,791 --> 00:18:08,921
So we're here in Ouidah in
the Village of Zoungbodji,
265
00:18:09,004 --> 00:18:12,966
and this is called
the Tree of Return.
266
00:18:13,050 --> 00:18:16,512
And that just means that
captive Africans would walk
267
00:18:16,595 --> 00:18:22,309
around it three times so that
their souls would remain here
268
00:18:23,185 --> 00:18:27,689
even though their bodies
were being taken far away.
269
00:18:32,236 --> 00:18:34,029
We're returning.
270
00:18:34,113 --> 00:18:37,241
We're returning them.
271
00:18:38,242 --> 00:18:40,494
Yeah,
they're physically not here,
272
00:18:40,577 --> 00:18:43,288
so we're returning
on their behalf.
273
00:18:43,372 --> 00:18:45,791
{\an8}To me,
it feels like getting closer
274
00:18:45,874 --> 00:18:47,376
{\an8}to their soul.
275
00:18:47,459 --> 00:18:49,169
When I first
came, I didn't feel anything.
276
00:18:49,253 --> 00:18:51,171
But then, when I put
everybody's hand together,
277
00:18:51,255 --> 00:18:52,840
then I was just like, 'bam'.
278
00:18:52,923 --> 00:18:55,801
It just started to clicking.
279
00:18:58,679 --> 00:18:59,888
Can I touch it, too?
280
00:18:59,972 --> 00:19:01,890
Yeah, get in here.
281
00:19:01,974 --> 00:19:03,934
This is your ancestors, too.
282
00:19:04,017 --> 00:19:06,311
This is everybody's ancestors.
283
00:19:06,395 --> 00:19:09,439
You're right.
You're right.
284
00:19:09,857 --> 00:19:14,820
I know that at least 20%
of my blood comes from Benin.
285
00:19:14,903 --> 00:19:16,113
So you're right.
286
00:19:16,196 --> 00:19:17,197
Like this is--
287
00:19:18,365 --> 00:19:19,366
Me, too.
288
00:19:19,449 --> 00:19:20,659
This
is you now communing
289
00:19:20,742 --> 00:19:21,743
with your ancestor.
290
00:19:21,827 --> 00:19:24,538
- Wow
- Absolutely. Yeah.
291
00:19:24,621 --> 00:19:25,873
When I
started this journey,
292
00:19:25,956 --> 00:19:27,708
I was like, does
it really matter?
293
00:19:27,791 --> 00:19:29,543
Do your ancestors,
I don't know,
294
00:19:29,626 --> 00:19:32,254
does it really
make a difference?
295
00:19:32,337 --> 00:19:33,839
And I think it does.
296
00:19:33,922 --> 00:19:36,758
I think knowing who you
are gives you strength,
297
00:19:36,842 --> 00:19:37,926
gives you confidence.
298
00:19:38,010 --> 00:19:41,180
And that is absolutely
something that's universal.
299
00:19:41,847 --> 00:19:45,392
All right, I know that you have
a ritual that you want to do,
300
00:19:45,475 --> 00:19:48,395
so I am going to step
away and let you do it.
301
00:19:49,229 --> 00:19:50,564
Billy Adams.
302
00:19:50,647 --> 00:19:52,274
Ashe
303
00:19:52,357 --> 00:19:53,358
John Africa.
304
00:19:53,442 --> 00:19:55,444
Ashe
305
00:19:55,527 --> 00:19:57,196
- Lancer Africa.
- Ashe.
306
00:19:57,279 --> 00:19:59,781
We are
calling the names of those
307
00:19:59,865 --> 00:20:02,534
that are known that have
departed on the Clotilda.
308
00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,413
And we tried to use as many
African names as we could.
309
00:20:06,955 --> 00:20:09,291
- Omolabi
- Ashe.
310
00:20:09,374 --> 00:20:11,835
As
they read the names of
311
00:20:11,919 --> 00:20:13,587
Clotilda survivors out loud,
312
00:20:13,670 --> 00:20:16,381
I thought about what
all the captured Africans who
313
00:20:16,465 --> 00:20:19,968
walked around this tree
were forced to leave behind.
314
00:20:22,137 --> 00:20:25,015
When you
separate people from everything
315
00:20:25,098 --> 00:20:26,099
that looks like them,
316
00:20:26,183 --> 00:20:28,227
from everything
that sounds like them,
317
00:20:28,310 --> 00:20:30,896
they lose their entire self.
318
00:20:30,979 --> 00:20:32,105
Ashe.
319
00:20:32,189 --> 00:20:33,523
- Lottie Dennison.
- Ashe.
320
00:20:33,607 --> 00:20:35,609
- Samuel Johnson.
- Ashe.
321
00:20:35,692 --> 00:20:37,486
- Anna Keeby.
- Ashe.
322
00:20:37,569 --> 00:20:39,071
- Gumpa.
- Ashe
323
00:20:39,154 --> 00:20:42,199
- Kossola Oluale.
- Ashe.
324
00:20:56,380 --> 00:20:59,925
We've been
invited to an Egungun ceremony,
325
00:21:00,008 --> 00:21:03,303
a West African dance tradition
that manifests the spirits of
326
00:21:03,387 --> 00:21:07,975
ancestors for remembrance,
celebration, and blessings.
327
00:21:19,444 --> 00:21:21,738
The timing was perfect.
328
00:21:21,822 --> 00:21:25,075
The descendants of Cudjo
and Gumpa are embarking on
329
00:21:25,158 --> 00:21:27,744
the next phase of
their reverse journey,
330
00:21:28,078 --> 00:21:30,664
the slave market.
331
00:21:32,249 --> 00:21:34,751
Ouidah
was one of the most important
332
00:21:34,835 --> 00:21:38,297
slave towns on the
west coast of Africa.
333
00:21:38,380 --> 00:21:40,716
When the slaves
were brought from the
334
00:21:40,799 --> 00:21:43,218
{\an8}different wars that existed,
335
00:21:43,302 --> 00:21:45,387
{\an8}they were brought
to the slave market,
336
00:21:45,470 --> 00:21:48,307
{\an8}chosen by different
slave traders before they
337
00:21:48,390 --> 00:21:51,101
{\an8}would board the ships.
338
00:21:51,977 --> 00:21:57,524
{\an8}So I'm just
imagining Cudjo on the platform.
339
00:21:57,607 --> 00:21:59,818
{\an8}I can
only imagine, first of all,
340
00:21:59,901 --> 00:22:02,446
{\an8}how degrading it
is because you're in front of
341
00:22:02,529 --> 00:22:04,948
{\an8}a crowd of people,
342
00:22:05,032 --> 00:22:07,451
{\an8}and you have these
strangers poking and prodding.
343
00:22:07,534 --> 00:22:08,660
{\an8}You don't know
what they're saying.
344
00:22:08,744 --> 00:22:10,037
{\an8}You don't know what's happening.
345
00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:11,330
Yeah.
346
00:22:11,413 --> 00:22:14,207
Can you tell us a little bit
about Gumpa, Delisha?
347
00:22:15,625 --> 00:22:16,960
He
was here at the market.
348
00:22:17,044 --> 00:22:19,546
{\an8}He looked very dignified,
very beautiful,
349
00:22:19,629 --> 00:22:21,840
{\an8}dark brown chocolate skin.
350
00:22:21,923 --> 00:22:25,469
As I understand it, Gumpa
was given away as a gift.
351
00:22:26,553 --> 00:22:30,640
Almost
18,000 Africans were taken
352
00:22:30,724 --> 00:22:33,602
from the port of Ouidah
every year.
353
00:22:33,685 --> 00:22:36,897
And that is why we
consider it as a genocide.
354
00:22:36,980 --> 00:22:38,857
It is a genocide.
355
00:22:46,198 --> 00:22:49,576
The next stop
on our journey is the place
356
00:22:49,659 --> 00:22:53,997
where Cudjo was held
before he came here.
357
00:22:54,081 --> 00:22:56,541
That was a barracoon.
358
00:22:57,084 --> 00:23:00,337
Barracoons were outdoor
stockades where captured
359
00:23:00,420 --> 00:23:04,424
Africans were held for days,
even months, until ships,
360
00:23:04,508 --> 00:23:06,259
like the Clotilda,
361
00:23:06,343 --> 00:23:09,513
arrived to take them
across the Atlantic.
362
00:23:10,347 --> 00:23:13,183
There were
five major forts in Ouidah:
363
00:23:13,266 --> 00:23:16,186
the Danish, the Dutch,
the French, the English,
364
00:23:16,269 --> 00:23:18,647
and the Portuguese fort.
365
00:23:19,731 --> 00:23:23,777
They were kept chained here
until the ships were ready.
366
00:23:37,666 --> 00:23:41,294
Oh, my goodness.
367
00:23:43,046 --> 00:23:44,214
Those are shackles?
368
00:23:44,297 --> 00:23:46,550
Those are shackles.
369
00:23:46,633 --> 00:23:53,265
Oh, my God.
Oh, my--
370
00:23:58,478 --> 00:23:59,855
That's a neck shackle.
371
00:24:02,023 --> 00:24:05,068
Oh, my God.
372
00:24:06,236 --> 00:24:10,157
Imagine this
around your neck and the weight.
373
00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,118
Captives
could be up to 60, 80, 100,
374
00:24:13,201 --> 00:24:17,873
200 that were kept here
with very little, no food.
375
00:24:18,665 --> 00:24:22,294
Only once in a day,
they were fed.
376
00:24:23,587 --> 00:24:25,881
How do you
think the women's felt?
377
00:24:25,964 --> 00:24:27,215
That was the
first thing that came to mind.
378
00:24:27,299 --> 00:24:29,176
If you're having
your menstrual cycle.
379
00:24:29,259 --> 00:24:30,635
Or if you're pregnant.
380
00:24:30,719 --> 00:24:33,305
Trafficking
that many people, you know,
381
00:24:33,388 --> 00:24:35,557
through a fort like this.
382
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:37,434
Which
I'm sure was not cleaned,
383
00:24:37,517 --> 00:24:40,604
so whatever the group
of people did in here once
384
00:24:40,687 --> 00:24:42,439
they were taken away,
385
00:24:42,522 --> 00:24:46,109
another group came in
and sat in the blood,
386
00:24:46,193 --> 00:24:48,653
in the feces, in the urine.
387
00:24:48,737 --> 00:24:52,699
You're now sitting in
yours and someone else's.
388
00:24:52,782 --> 00:24:56,161
This is a lot to ingest.
389
00:25:02,834 --> 00:25:06,838
On average,
they were spending roughly
390
00:25:06,922 --> 00:25:09,132
two months here.
391
00:25:09,966 --> 00:25:13,553
And
then you're at the market.
392
00:25:13,637 --> 00:25:16,264
Right.
393
00:25:16,348 --> 00:25:18,141
You're at the market like
394
00:25:18,225 --> 00:25:22,812
you're a cow waiting to be sold.
395
00:25:25,273 --> 00:25:28,151
The moats
are just around the fence that
396
00:25:28,235 --> 00:25:31,279
circles the old fort.
397
00:25:31,363 --> 00:25:34,824
They were infested
with crocodiles.
398
00:25:34,908 --> 00:25:37,536
It is believed that there
were some that were thrown
399
00:25:37,619 --> 00:25:40,705
into the gutters.
400
00:25:40,789 --> 00:25:43,375
Cassandra,
you want to lead us in prayer?
401
00:25:44,501 --> 00:25:49,297
Lord,
Father God, this room here,
402
00:25:50,715 --> 00:25:53,635
it's just a spirit here,
403
00:25:53,718 --> 00:25:56,596
it's just making us
feel kind of down.
404
00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:02,686
I ask you to lift us up and
carry us in a decent way.
405
00:26:03,019 --> 00:26:04,396
Amen.
406
00:26:15,574 --> 00:26:17,409
We're off to Abomey,
407
00:26:17,492 --> 00:26:20,912
once the capital of
the Dahomey kingdom.
408
00:26:20,996 --> 00:26:23,415
Between the 17th
and 19th centuries,
409
00:26:23,498 --> 00:26:25,375
twelve kings reigned,
410
00:26:25,458 --> 00:26:28,295
many of whom expanded
the kingdom by conquering
411
00:26:28,378 --> 00:26:33,508
neighboring tribes and
selling captives to be enslaved.
412
00:26:33,592 --> 00:26:37,012
During that era, Dahomey
became one of the most powerful
413
00:26:37,095 --> 00:26:39,806
kingdoms on the
West Coast of Africa.
414
00:26:50,025 --> 00:26:53,820
Today, the country of Benin
is no longer a monarchy,
415
00:26:53,903 --> 00:26:57,532
it's a republic, and the
title of king is primarily
416
00:26:57,616 --> 00:26:59,534
a ceremonial one.
417
00:27:00,076 --> 00:27:02,454
Let us prostrate. Like this.
418
00:27:12,005 --> 00:27:14,132
The
King of the most powerful
419
00:27:14,215 --> 00:27:18,553
Dahomey Kingdom wants to
420
00:27:18,637 --> 00:27:22,182
renew his gratitude.
421
00:27:35,945 --> 00:27:39,532
Everybody accepts today that
422
00:27:39,616 --> 00:27:44,704
the slave trade was a
crime against humanity.
423
00:27:49,918 --> 00:27:53,922
And today, we are ready to
424
00:27:54,005 --> 00:27:57,425
move forward in a partnership,
425
00:27:58,343 --> 00:28:03,598
{\an8}in a strength building
between Africans and Africans
426
00:28:03,682 --> 00:28:05,725
{\an8}of the diaspora.
427
00:28:10,146 --> 00:28:12,315
And that is why His Majesty is
428
00:28:12,399 --> 00:28:15,068
expecting you to
come back again.
429
00:28:15,151 --> 00:28:18,530
All his children,
all his grandchildren,
430
00:28:19,698 --> 00:28:21,658
they should come back home.
431
00:28:21,991 --> 00:28:24,035
Wow, this is amazing.
432
00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:26,246
You can't even imagine.
433
00:28:26,329 --> 00:28:28,123
It's a sense of peace,
434
00:28:28,206 --> 00:28:30,333
it's a sense of comfort.
435
00:28:30,417 --> 00:28:33,086
This is what
Afro-Americans need to know.
436
00:28:33,169 --> 00:28:36,923
Yeah, that
they can always come home.
437
00:28:48,268 --> 00:28:50,937
After our
visit with the current king,
438
00:28:51,020 --> 00:28:53,773
we're now off to
meet a direct descendant of
439
00:28:53,857 --> 00:28:56,651
a past king.
440
00:28:56,735 --> 00:28:59,446
Like Delisha, this
descendant can trace
441
00:28:59,529 --> 00:29:02,323
his lineage to King Glele,
442
00:29:02,407 --> 00:29:05,452
who ordered the raid
on Cudjo's village and exiled
443
00:29:05,535 --> 00:29:08,079
Gumpa from the royal court.
444
00:29:23,219 --> 00:29:26,389
The king
is very happy to welcome you.
445
00:29:26,890 --> 00:29:28,266
Thank you.
446
00:29:31,978 --> 00:29:34,189
If you have any questions,
447
00:29:34,522 --> 00:29:36,900
it is your time to ask him.
448
00:29:37,650 --> 00:29:39,819
{\an8}Can you
tell us a little about Glele
449
00:29:39,903 --> 00:29:41,696
{\an8}and what he was like?
450
00:29:46,159 --> 00:29:48,453
When the
King Glele come to power,
451
00:29:48,536 --> 00:29:51,331
he reign with peace
and with progress of the
452
00:29:51,414 --> 00:29:53,666
Kingdom of Dahomey.
453
00:29:53,750 --> 00:29:57,295
He liked people.
He liked Europeans.
454
00:29:57,378 --> 00:29:59,297
He liked everybody.
455
00:30:00,048 --> 00:30:02,175
{\an8}Because the King has such a
456
00:30:02,258 --> 00:30:04,469
{\an8}good relationship with
the Europeans,
457
00:30:04,552 --> 00:30:08,348
{\an8}did he know what
European slavery was like?
458
00:30:09,849 --> 00:30:15,021
The King of Abomey
never sold people as a slave.
459
00:30:17,524 --> 00:30:23,696
Those men and women
travel to America to
460
00:30:23,780 --> 00:30:25,949
work with those Europeans,
461
00:30:26,491 --> 00:30:29,118
and they want to
have a good relationship
462
00:30:29,202 --> 00:30:31,162
with those Europeans,
463
00:30:31,246 --> 00:30:34,332
so if today we
talk about slavery,
464
00:30:34,415 --> 00:30:40,505
it's to show the negative
parts of the kingdom of Abomey,
465
00:30:40,588 --> 00:30:42,298
but that is not right.
466
00:30:42,382 --> 00:30:45,927
It is wrong.
So this is the facts.
467
00:30:46,010 --> 00:30:49,889
Is the
King saying the fact is that
468
00:30:49,973 --> 00:30:53,226
my ancestor was
not sold into slavery?
469
00:30:56,563 --> 00:31:00,108
The King said
that they never sold people.
470
00:31:00,191 --> 00:31:04,362
Because my ancestor, Kossola,
471
00:31:04,445 --> 00:31:08,449
told his children and his
children's children that he
472
00:31:08,533 --> 00:31:11,870
did not go willingly.
473
00:31:11,953 --> 00:31:16,332
To say that Africans
were not sold into slavery
474
00:31:16,416 --> 00:31:18,126
is not only false,
475
00:31:18,209 --> 00:31:20,837
but it makes it seem as
though he thinks I'm foolish.
476
00:31:29,971 --> 00:31:33,892
I feel very
much so mocked by the laughter,
477
00:31:33,975 --> 00:31:38,730
and that got me more
enraged to the point to where
478
00:31:38,813 --> 00:31:41,232
I wanted to get
up and walk away.
479
00:31:42,942 --> 00:31:44,319
I was stunned.
480
00:31:44,402 --> 00:31:47,363
Do you know we lost relatives?
481
00:31:47,447 --> 00:31:51,743
{\an8}And for you to
sit here and deny it,
482
00:31:51,826 --> 00:31:53,703
it was shocking to me.
483
00:31:55,163 --> 00:31:56,414
I didn't
want the conversation to go
484
00:31:56,497 --> 00:31:58,833
where it was going.
485
00:31:58,917 --> 00:32:01,044
I just didn't want
nobody to be hurt.
486
00:32:02,545 --> 00:32:06,257
{\an8}He's not going to say that
his family was part of an
487
00:32:06,341 --> 00:32:08,092
{\an8}illegal slave trade.
488
00:32:08,176 --> 00:32:10,803
{\an8}I don't expect for him
to say that he's wrong.
489
00:32:16,100 --> 00:32:21,481
The king
started off saying these things
490
00:32:21,564 --> 00:32:23,441
that impacted us all.
491
00:32:25,151 --> 00:32:27,111
But then he changed his tune,
492
00:32:27,195 --> 00:32:29,364
but he didn't change
his tune on his own.
493
00:32:29,447 --> 00:32:34,869
{\an8}Someone on our team went
to the prince and told him
494
00:32:34,953 --> 00:32:39,791
no, no, no, no, no, no,
this is what happened,
495
00:32:39,874 --> 00:32:42,502
and you will not disrespect us.
496
00:32:45,046 --> 00:32:47,507
The king says for
497
00:32:47,590 --> 00:32:51,511
reconciliation to take place,
498
00:32:51,594 --> 00:32:54,973
it is important
to continue to talk,
499
00:32:55,056 --> 00:32:57,392
to continue to exchange,
500
00:32:57,475 --> 00:33:01,312
for us to be finally,
how you say?
501
00:33:01,854 --> 00:33:03,272
Cleansed. Cleansed, exactly.
502
00:33:04,983 --> 00:33:07,485
I
have a final question.
503
00:33:07,568 --> 00:33:09,988
Why not sell them,
504
00:33:10,071 --> 00:33:12,615
send them to a
place where they can
505
00:33:12,699 --> 00:33:14,200
keep their culture intact,
506
00:33:14,283 --> 00:33:16,995
where they can be
with their people,
507
00:33:17,078 --> 00:33:20,123
where they can
eventually return home?
508
00:33:20,206 --> 00:33:21,791
Because in America,
509
00:33:21,874 --> 00:33:25,294
they are completely cut off
from their language,
510
00:33:25,378 --> 00:33:26,921
from their people,
from their culture,
511
00:33:27,005 --> 00:33:28,006
From their families.
512
00:33:28,089 --> 00:33:30,341
So
why send them to a place
513
00:33:30,425 --> 00:33:33,845
where you know they
will never have contact with
514
00:33:33,928 --> 00:33:36,639
what is most
deeply pure of them?
515
00:33:37,807 --> 00:33:40,018
It's okay.
516
00:33:40,101 --> 00:33:42,937
It's not okay. It's not.
517
00:33:43,438 --> 00:33:46,816
It's okay.
This is what we came for.
518
00:33:46,899 --> 00:33:48,693
We came for answers.
519
00:33:48,776 --> 00:33:52,030
I did notice
other ladies that were crying.
520
00:33:52,113 --> 00:33:55,324
And that was a
sense of comfort for me.
521
00:33:56,325 --> 00:33:57,952
Regardless of what
else has happened,
522
00:33:58,036 --> 00:34:00,705
regardless of what anyone
else is saying, you get it,
523
00:34:00,788 --> 00:34:03,833
and you're with me in spirit,
and you feel my pain.
524
00:34:05,877 --> 00:34:07,587
Both sides
need to take ownership.
525
00:34:07,670 --> 00:34:12,675
So I'm equally mad at
Glele and people like him who
526
00:34:12,759 --> 00:34:14,218
enslave their own.
527
00:34:14,302 --> 00:34:18,639
That doesn't diminish any of
the part that slave traders and
528
00:34:18,723 --> 00:34:20,683
slave owners played in this.
529
00:34:20,767 --> 00:34:24,353
Everyone needs to be held
accountable for what happened.
530
00:34:24,437 --> 00:34:27,899
And that is why a lot of
people are still angry.
531
00:34:44,499 --> 00:34:48,044
Some of
the elders from Glele's family
532
00:34:48,127 --> 00:34:52,632
took me into Glele's
personal palace.
533
00:34:53,549 --> 00:34:59,472
This would be where Gumpa would
hang out like in everyday life.
534
00:34:59,847 --> 00:35:01,849
Prior to leaving Alabama,
535
00:35:01,933 --> 00:35:05,061
I dug up some soil which
is around the chimney that
536
00:35:05,144 --> 00:35:09,107
still remains of the
house that he lived in...
537
00:35:09,190 --> 00:35:10,858
Welcome home, Gumpa.
538
00:35:10,942 --> 00:35:15,113
...to give his soul a release
and to fulfill his wish.
539
00:35:23,162 --> 00:35:25,414
...thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
540
00:35:25,498 --> 00:35:27,208
on earth as it is in heaven.
541
00:35:27,291 --> 00:35:29,001
Give us this day,
our daily bread,
542
00:35:29,085 --> 00:35:30,545
and forgive us our trespasses,
543
00:35:30,628 --> 00:35:32,922
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
544
00:35:33,005 --> 00:35:36,717
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
545
00:35:36,801 --> 00:35:39,512
For thine is kingdom, the
power and glory forever.
546
00:35:39,595 --> 00:35:41,556
Amen.
547
00:35:44,851 --> 00:35:47,353
I know it's something
that he's been wanting,
548
00:35:47,436 --> 00:35:50,982
{\an8}and my family's been
wanting to do for 162 years.
549
00:35:51,482 --> 00:35:53,609
So finally being able
to do that for him,
550
00:35:53,693 --> 00:35:59,115
it feels very freeing, and I
hope he's at peace as well.
551
00:36:09,125 --> 00:36:10,835
{\an8}We're
on our way to Bantè.
552
00:36:10,918 --> 00:36:13,921
{\an8}Yes. I am so excited.
553
00:36:14,005 --> 00:36:15,840
{\an8}Like I can barely
contain myself.
554
00:36:15,923 --> 00:36:17,008
{\an8}What about you, Garry?
555
00:36:17,091 --> 00:36:19,218
{\an8}Do you feel nervous
about anything at all?
556
00:36:19,302 --> 00:36:21,596
{\an8}I'm
just going to take it in.
557
00:36:21,679 --> 00:36:23,890
{\an8}That has to be exciting.
558
00:36:23,973 --> 00:36:25,975
I'm excited for you, guys.
559
00:36:52,293 --> 00:36:56,297
Oh, wow.
Do y'all see this?
560
00:36:56,797 --> 00:36:59,091
Oh, my God.
561
00:37:03,679 --> 00:37:07,058
Scores of people.
562
00:37:07,141 --> 00:37:10,770
Old people, young people.
Men. Women.
563
00:37:30,831 --> 00:37:32,541
You
got my brother's nose.
564
00:37:32,625 --> 00:37:36,212
You got my sister's eyes.
You got my cousin's cheeks.
565
00:37:36,295 --> 00:37:39,465
Everybody represents somebody.
566
00:37:44,136 --> 00:37:47,223
I didn't
feel like a stranger anymore.
567
00:38:06,075 --> 00:38:09,954
The oldest of the elders just
told us welcome back home,
568
00:38:10,788 --> 00:38:12,707
you're home, you're our family,
569
00:38:12,790 --> 00:38:14,500
your family is here.
570
00:38:14,583 --> 00:38:18,254
And every person just
echoed that sentiment,
571
00:38:18,337 --> 00:38:19,714
and it really did feel that way.
572
00:38:20,339 --> 00:38:23,634
He's very
glad because your ancestor
573
00:38:23,718 --> 00:38:26,470
write his story
574
00:38:26,554 --> 00:38:28,180
and because of his story
575
00:38:28,264 --> 00:38:29,765
you know the route
576
00:38:29,849 --> 00:38:31,517
and you've come back home.
577
00:38:38,607 --> 00:38:41,736
{\an8}I am so overwhelmed.
578
00:38:42,236 --> 00:38:43,988
{\an8}I have snot
coming out my nose now.
579
00:38:44,071 --> 00:38:45,740
Like,
I'm thinking, okay this is the
580
00:38:45,823 --> 00:38:47,033
path that he walked.
581
00:38:47,116 --> 00:38:49,952
Like even just in his normal
everyday, just going places,
582
00:38:50,036 --> 00:38:51,912
this is the ground
that his feet touched,
583
00:38:51,996 --> 00:38:54,123
and then coming back
into the village,
584
00:38:54,206 --> 00:38:55,249
these are the
songs that he sang.
585
00:38:55,333 --> 00:38:56,625
These are the
dances that he did.
586
00:38:56,709 --> 00:38:58,085
These are the drums
that he saw, and he heard.
587
00:38:58,169 --> 00:38:59,378
Yes,
yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
588
00:38:59,462 --> 00:39:00,629
These are the faces that he saw.
589
00:39:00,713 --> 00:39:01,714
These are the faces,
590
00:39:01,797 --> 00:39:03,549
these are his people,
and these are my people,
591
00:39:03,632 --> 00:39:05,760
and they're saying
you're home, you're home.
592
00:39:05,843 --> 00:39:07,887
Yes, yes, yes!
593
00:39:13,684 --> 00:39:16,228
This isn't even
my story, but it is my story.
594
00:39:16,312 --> 00:39:17,938
It is your story,
595
00:39:18,022 --> 00:39:19,857
it's all of our stories, it is.
596
00:39:19,940 --> 00:39:21,942
It is your story.
597
00:39:28,949 --> 00:39:32,244
The moment had
finally come to ceremoniously
598
00:39:32,328 --> 00:39:36,457
bring Cudjo Lewis home.
599
00:39:41,045 --> 00:39:43,631
So it was a
ceremony that we had to perform,
600
00:39:43,714 --> 00:39:48,594
a ritual that could only be
performed by blood relatives.
601
00:39:49,845 --> 00:39:53,808
And it had to do with us
giving him an offering,
602
00:39:54,266 --> 00:39:58,521
and it was really just
us inviting him back,
603
00:39:58,604 --> 00:40:00,606
his spirit back
into the village,
604
00:40:00,940 --> 00:40:04,819
and then sealing it in a way
where his spirit is tethered
605
00:40:04,902 --> 00:40:06,987
to his village.
606
00:40:08,489 --> 00:40:10,783
I'm so excited.
607
00:40:11,909 --> 00:40:15,496
I had to
get down and draw the map.
608
00:40:15,579 --> 00:40:17,164
Pour it out, Cassandra.
609
00:40:17,248 --> 00:40:19,583
We're going to put
Pop-pop in the middle.
610
00:40:19,667 --> 00:40:21,794
Put the heart in there, yeah.
611
00:40:21,877 --> 00:40:25,548
We
spread Cudjo's and his wife's
612
00:40:25,631 --> 00:40:28,884
soil in the middle
with the heart.
613
00:40:28,968 --> 00:40:30,469
We placed soil from our
614
00:40:30,553 --> 00:40:34,140
other ancestors from Mobile,
bringing them home as well.
615
00:40:35,224 --> 00:40:37,268
Tell them to call Cudjo.
616
00:40:37,351 --> 00:40:39,103
Tell him to come home.
617
00:40:48,821 --> 00:40:54,910
Louder.
Louder! Louder! Louder!
618
00:41:03,836 --> 00:41:05,212
Bring him home, come on.
619
00:41:05,296 --> 00:41:09,717
Bring him home!
620
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,761
That wasn't just me.
That was the family.
621
00:41:12,845 --> 00:41:14,763
That was the
people of the village.
622
00:41:14,847 --> 00:41:16,098
That was everybody!
623
00:41:16,182 --> 00:41:21,854
Come on, come on,
come on, come on, come on!
624
00:41:27,735 --> 00:41:29,069
When it ended.
625
00:41:29,153 --> 00:41:30,446
I said is it done?
626
00:41:30,529 --> 00:41:32,281
And he said yes.
627
00:41:32,364 --> 00:41:35,659
So I had to turn to
everybody and say it's done.
628
00:41:36,785 --> 00:41:40,539
It wasn't
my family returning home.
629
00:41:41,373 --> 00:41:44,793
But it was.
630
00:41:45,127 --> 00:41:47,129
The stories of our ancestors,
631
00:41:47,213 --> 00:41:49,465
specifically
African American people,
632
00:41:49,548 --> 00:41:50,925
are human stories.
633
00:41:51,008 --> 00:41:55,888
And they're not just about
the condition of enslavement.
634
00:41:55,971 --> 00:41:58,516
There is joy.
There is power.
635
00:41:58,599 --> 00:42:03,354
There is agency.
This work is about discovery.
636
00:42:04,063 --> 00:42:06,774
We're ready.
We're good, we're good.
637
00:42:08,234 --> 00:42:10,903
It's about
remembering and honoring and
638
00:42:10,986 --> 00:42:13,030
reckoning and restoring,
639
00:42:13,113 --> 00:42:15,449
and ultimately,
it's about healing.
640
00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:23,290
Where
we performed our ceremony,
641
00:42:23,374 --> 00:42:27,920
that is a part of the three
acres of land that the village
642
00:42:28,003 --> 00:42:29,964
has gifted us.
643
00:42:30,047 --> 00:42:31,966
The expectation is
that we come back.
644
00:42:32,049 --> 00:42:34,927
Which we will.
645
00:42:43,894 --> 00:42:45,938
Our
journey wasn't over yet.
646
00:42:46,021 --> 00:42:48,566
The town of Bantè
had a surprise for
647
00:42:48,649 --> 00:42:50,818
Cudjo's descendants.
648
00:42:55,614 --> 00:42:57,074
Oh
my goodness gracious,
649
00:42:57,157 --> 00:42:59,535
you have got to be kidding me.
650
00:42:59,618 --> 00:43:01,036
When we saw it,
651
00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:03,247
I spotted it from afar,
652
00:43:03,330 --> 00:43:05,749
and I couldn't take
my eyes off of it.
653
00:43:05,833 --> 00:43:09,420
The statue was so beautiful.
654
00:43:09,503 --> 00:43:11,088
Wow, look at this!
655
00:43:11,171 --> 00:43:14,425
Do you
want to read it out loud?
656
00:43:15,801 --> 00:43:19,096
"Cudjo Oluale Kossola Lewis
657
00:43:19,179 --> 00:43:21,640
from Benin to Alabama, USA,
658
00:43:21,724 --> 00:43:23,976
last survivor of the
last known slave ship to
659
00:43:24,059 --> 00:43:25,978
enter the United States.
660
00:43:26,061 --> 00:43:29,940
{\an8}He was one of over 100
African men and women purchased
661
00:43:30,024 --> 00:43:32,651
{\an8}and brought across the
Atlantic to Mobile, Alabama,
662
00:43:32,735 --> 00:43:36,405
aboard the slave ship Clotilda."
663
00:43:36,488 --> 00:43:39,408
They never forgot him.
664
00:43:39,491 --> 00:43:42,661
He must've sent out some
strong vibes back here, man,
665
00:43:43,912 --> 00:43:45,706
for them to
remember him like this.
666
00:43:45,789 --> 00:43:48,125
Yeah.
667
00:43:48,208 --> 00:43:51,879
{\an8}My hope that
as people listen to this story,
668
00:43:51,962 --> 00:43:54,715
{\an8}as they connect
to this miraculous,
669
00:43:54,798 --> 00:43:58,302
{\an8}amazing opportunity
for the descendants to
670
00:43:58,385 --> 00:44:00,095
{\an8}connect with their roots,
671
00:44:00,179 --> 00:44:03,223
{\an8}that something gets
healed in our world.
672
00:44:04,141 --> 00:44:07,019
{\an8}And that feels like,
that's everything.