African Town

By: Charles Waters, Irene Latham

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Ronald Peet, Andrew Eiden, Cary Hite, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Sandra Okuboyejo, Soneela Nankani, Nene Nwoko, Michael Obiora, Prentice Onayemi, Mark Sanderlin, Mirron Willis, Patrick Zeller

Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Chronicling the story of the last Africans brought illegally to America in 1860, African Town is a powerful and stunning novel-in-verse.

In 1860, long after the United States outlawed the importation of enslaved laborers, 110 men, women, and children from Benin and Nigeria were captured and brought to Mobile, Alabama, aboard a ship called Clotilda. Their journey includes the savage Middle Passage and being hidden in the swamplands along the Alabama River before being secretly parceled out to various plantations, where they made desperate attempts to maintain both their culture and also fit into the place of captivity to which they'd been delivered. At the end of the Civil War, the survivors created a community for themselves they called African Town, which still exists to this day. Told in 14 distinct voices, including that of the ship that brought them to the American shores and the founder of African Town, this powerfully affecting historical novel-in-verse recreates a pivotal moment in US and world history, the impacts of which we still feel today.

This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF with a glossary and additional resources.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Charles Waters and Irene Latham (P)2022 Listening Library

Critic reviews

A 2023 Scott O’Dell Award Winner
A 2024 Sequoya Book Award Nominee (OK)
A 2023-2024 South Carolina Book Award Nominee
A 2022 NPR Books We Love List Pick
A 2022-2023 Yellowhammer YA Book Award Honor (AL)
A 2022 Great Reads from Great Places Reading List Pick (AL)

“African Town is a stunningly powerful and visceral novel.” —Oprah Daily

“A haunting, beautifully told history.” —NPR

“The authors have done a remarkable job of weaving the stories of the characters together and telling the story from both the perspective of the slaves and the people who orchestrated their purchase. Though this story is fictional it is based on a vast amount of research that was done on the actual people who participated in this story. . . This story will inspire readers to do some research to find out more about the real events that took place. . . Not to be missed.” —School Library Connection, starred review

Very well done

This was a great listen. This is the first book I read that talks about the journey to America and it’s honestly heartbreaking. To think about being kidnapped and traveling to a foreign place under those beyond harsh conditions and survive that alone ….. smh

Story in verse

I enjoyed listening to this book as told from multiple points of view. This delivery aided in the understanding of the series of events from different perspectives.

Admirable people

Too much misfortune. A story well told and making me wish to visit the location.