AL.com: Africatown gets $2.5 million in federal dollars for redevelopment
AL.com
A campaign of new construction and historic renovation in Mobile’s Africatown community will receive a $2.5 million federal allocation to continue its work, U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures announced Friday.
To make the announcement, Figures and other state and local officials gathered on the front porch of one of three brand-new “forever homes” that the Africatown Redevelopment Corporation (ARC) is about to put on the market.
Karlos Finley, executive director of ARC, said the organization has built eight new homes in the last year and a half, has two more coming soon, and has renovated eight existing homes. The new allocation will help continue that work, he said.
Auburn University’s Rural Studio is a partner in the design and construction of the homes.
“This is, to date, to my knowledge, the first direct federal appropriation that the Africatown redevelopment effort has received in any context,” said Figures. “And we certainly hope that it is not the last.”
Africatown was founded after the Civil War by survivors of the slave ship Clotilda. Unlike most freed slaves, they were able to draw on memories of life before bondage as they built a community where they could preserve their language and culture. By the early 21st century the community had been diminished by a variety of factors, including industrial encroachment, but the identification of the Clotilda’s ruins provoked worldwide interest and helped spark long-denied hopes of revitalization.
“The historical significance of this community, what happened here some 160-odd years ago with the last enslaved Africans arriving in America, coming right here in this area where we stand today, the history of this place cannot go unnoticed,” said Figures. “The history of this community and the contributions that they made to Mobile culture cannot go unnoticed and it cannot be understated.”
Finley said the three-bedroom, two-bath home where Friday’s announcement was made represents a template called the Africatown “wide house.”
“The wide house originally was a specific design by the Africans here in Africatown that they built and lived in,” said Finley. “Most lived in shotgun houses. The Africans designed the wide house. This is our interpretation of it. And of course, we do have shotguns as well, because that’s certainly a large part of our history.
“This is a quality built, energy efficient home,” he said. “Nine-foot ceilings, double-pane glass, soft-close drawers and cabinets, stainless utilities, remote control ceiling fans and lights. We’ve not cut corners on this, guys. These are forever homes. That’s why our program is called the Africatown forever home program. These are foundational homes that can be used for generational wealth building.”
The three newest homes occupy what previously were vacant lots on Edwards Street opposite the Robert Hope Community Center. Finley said the wide house will list for $180,000 and the shotgun houses for $170,000. Money from their sale will be plowed back into ARC’s work.
Rusty Smith, associate director of the AU Rural Studio, said his organization’s role was to help “increase the supply of high-performance forever homes that are energy-efficient, durable, and better able to withstand storm damage, all while honoring Africatown’s cultural history and legacy.”
He said that while people tended to be curious about how much it cost to build the homes, they should weigh it against “the hidden cost of inaction.”
“In the places where we live and work, this inaction always shows up as instability, displacement, and the slow erosion of opportunity,” he said.
“These houses will have homeowners, and those homeowners will have voices,” Smith said. “In this way, these houses and those that follow will help strengthen the voice of this community. And this community matters, and it deserves to be heard.”
Other officials who spoke included Ala. Rep. Adline Clarke, Mobile City Council member Samantha Ingram, Ala. Sen. Vivian Davis Figures and Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood. Finley credited Ludgood with a previous $3 million county allocation to ARC.
Vivian Davis Figures said the day was an emotional one for her because she was witnessing Shomari Figures, her son, pick up a baton once carried by her late husband, Michael Figures, who was a state senator when he died in 1996 after suffering an aneurysm. Friday would have been their 44th wedding anniversary, she said.
Finley said the houses would be officially on the market Saturday, Feb. 7, when an open house will be held. That event will coincide with the Owambe Festival taking place nearby at Mobile County Training School and the Africatown Heritage House.
For more information on ARC, visit www.atownrc.com.