The story of Africatown and the Clotilda, the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans to the United States, is set to reach a global audience when the documentary “Descendant” begins streaming on Netflix on October 21, 2022.
The film chronicles the lives and legacy of the descendants of the Clotilda’s captive passengers, who established the Africatown community north of downtown Mobile after emancipation. Darron Patterson, president of the Clotilda Descendants Association, described the documentary as emotionally powerful and said he believes it has the ability to shake the nation.
A call for Mobile to confront its history
“You will be overwhelmed at a city’s efforts to wipe out an entire community,” Patterson said. “We have an opportunity, Mobile, to teach the world something from this movie depending on how we react to what we see on screen.”
Patterson expressed hope that the film would break barriers in a city that has lived with this story for centuries. “We want Mobile to be a city for all the people,” he said. “Not just the rich, not just the white, not just the black, not just the people who have come here to work for Austal or Airbus. They bring different cultures from all over the world. Mobile needs to recognize that and step up to the plate.”
Connecting descendants worldwide
The Clotilda arrived near Mobile Bay in 1860, roughly 40 years after African slave trading became illegal in the United States. Its survivors founded Africatown, and the ship’s wreck was confirmed in the Mobile River in 2019, energizing preservation and heritage tourism efforts across the community.
Patterson also hopes the Netflix release will teach history to locals and people around the world. “When this movie comes out, the phones are going to ring off the hook of people saying I think I’m a descendant of Captain Foster, I think I’m a descendant of Timothy Mayor, I think I’m a descendant of Cooper Lee,” Patterson said. “They’re out there, and it’s important for the young people to know where they came from.”
Details regarding the film and a trailer were expected to be released later that week.
Trailer Arrives Ahead of Release
Netflix released the official trailer for “Descendant” in late September 2022, giving audiences a first look at the film ahead of its October debut. The documentary had already premiered at the 2022 Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival before heading to the streaming platform.
While the Clotilda’s discovery has already inspired books and other docuseries, “Descendant” is the first feature documentary to center on the residents of Africatown themselves — exploring both their ancestors’ history and the modern-day challenges facing the community today.