CHESS Mapping Exercise is a Success

One of the projects CHESS is required to complete for The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, our grantor, requires us to survey residents of Africatown to get their input on items listed below to help in the completion of our Africatown Mapping Exercise.

The basic idea is a SWOT analysis — looking at Africatown’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats — to determine what we can do to improve our condition, preserve our history, and limit further environmental threats.

The original intent was to identify major assets within the Africatown Community that could identified as tourist attractions and also to plot things within the community that are a threat to those tourist attractions as well as residents of Africatown. When plotted on a map, it would be clear to everyone that industry is a threat to Africatown residents and everything we treasure.
About 25 people showed up to help CHESS conduct a successful mapping exercise in Africatown on May 18, 2019.  The team included CHESS members Joe Womack, Joycelyn Davis and La’Miya Packer, with Navy volunteers led by Africatown native Chief Jason Lewis who were able to map out the latitude and longitude for the 45 sites we had on our list. The team broke down into four groups to map four sections of the community.
I. NORTH SECTION
1. Community Gardens
2. Mobile County Training School
3. MCTS “Den/Museum”
4. Africatown Freedom Bell
5. Robert Hope Community Center & Municipal Park Area
6. Cleon Jones Homestead
7. Kidd Park Playground
8. Hopewell Baptist Church
9. Yorktown Baptist Church
10. Mother of Mercy Catholic Church & Former School
11. Mommy Thelma’s Old Methodist Church Site
12. The Masonic Hall
13. Hog Bayou – Africatown Northern Border
II. SOUTHERN SECTION
1. Union Baptist Church
2. Bust of Cudjo Lewis
3. The Elk’s Lodge
4. The Historic Green’s Ally Homesite – Slave Quarters
5. Historic Slavery Era Fireplace Remains
6. Muriel of the Clotilda Slave Ship
7. The Historic Williams Motel
8. The Historic Africatown Cemetery
9. Proposed Africatown Welcome Center Site
10. The Mobile River – Africatown Eastern Border
11. Henry Williams Wielding Shop Site – Chin Street
III. WESTERN SECTION & AFRICATOWN CONNECTIONS BLUEWAY LANDMARKS
1. Green Grove Baptist Church
2. Pine Grove Baptist Church
3. Happy Hills Housing Project
4. Lewis Quarters
5. Three Mile Creek – Africatown S.W. Border
6. Lewis Landing One
7. Lewis Landing Two
8. Happy Hills Boat Launch
9. Telegraph Road Boat Launch
10. Historic Africatown Baptism Landmark
11. Clotilda Landing
12. Historic Railroad Turn Bridge
13. Historic Hog Bayou Hunting Grounds
IV. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH THREATS
1. Kemira Chemical Company
2. Land vacated by I.P. in Hog Bayou
3. Aluminum Scrap Faculity on Paper Mill Road
4. Kimberly – Clark Paper Company
5. South Plains Cap Oil Storage Facility
6. Hosea Weaver Asphalt Plant – Cut Off Road
7. Gulf South Lumber Company
8. Waste Disposal Facility located on West Bay Bridge Road
9. Miller Transport Chemical Trucking on Telegraph Road
Li’Miya Packer will collect the GPS coordinates for the sites of interests, threats, and opportunities for the DSCEJ.

 

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