He Founded A Town Through Preservation, Determination, And Community Cooperation

cudjo lewis photo
Via Wiki Commons
Alyssa Guzik
June 12, 2023

Audre Lorde is quoted as saying, “We are pow­er­ful because we have sur­vived, and that is what it is all about- sur­vival and growth.” Oluale Kossola, known as Cudjo Lewis, defines Black power, survival, and growth.

Born of the Yoruba people, Kossola’s comfortable life abruptly ended in 1860. Though importing kidnapped Africans into the Americas had been “illegal” for decades, Kossola was abducted from the Dahomey army and sold into the hands of Timothy Maeher.

Kossola’s name was changed to Cudjo Lewis while enslaved. He toiled for Maeher for five years on his steamboats until the Emancipation Proclamation. Lewis wished to return to Africa. Leading others held captive with him, Lewis attempted to receive reparations to fund the journey.

Denied his due reparations, Lewis didn’t let his circumstances stop him. Unable to return to Africa, he and the others pooled their collective wealth and bought land from their former enslaver outside Mobile, Alabama. Thus, Africatown was born, a self-governing refuge of the formerly enslaved.

Cudjo Lewis had everything stripped from him. He didn’t let that deter him from making the most out of what they had. His resilience and self-determination changed the lives of those around him. How can you inspire those around you today?

We have a quick favor to ask:

PushBlack is a nonprofit dedicated to raising up Black voices. We are a small team but we have an outsized impact:

  • We reach tens of millions of people with our BLACK NEWS & HISTORY STORIES every year.
  • We fight for CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM to protect our community.
  • We run VOTING CAMPAIGNS that reach over 10 million African-Americans across the country.

And as a nonprofit, we rely on small donations from subscribers like you.

With as little as $5 a month, you can help PushBlack raise up Black voices. It only takes a minute, so will you please ?

Share This Article: