In 2017 three Africatown supporters; Joe Womack, Teresa Bettis & Ramsey Sprague attended an Alabama River Alliance convention in Mobile to participate in a workshop conducted by The National Park Service Ranger Liz Smith Inzer to learn about installing Walking Trails & Water Trails (Blueway Trails) in and around The Africatown Community. Africatown is surrounded on three sides by water and would be perfect for the establishment of a Blueway Trail that would surround Africatown. In 2016 The Africatown Community completed the
Africatown Neighborhood Plan – Build Mobile . That plan is the vision of the people from The Africatown Community and was paid for by Mobile’s City Council Members. That plan included Walking Trails and Blueway Water Trails throughout the community.
Over the next couple of years The National Park Service conducted numerous meetings in Africatown to create plans for the construction of Walking & Blueway Trails in Africatown. In 2019 those Designs and Plans created by The Africatown Community won The National Park Service “Design and Plans of the Year” Award. The Africatown Connections Blueway was created with the starting point being Lewis Landing One at the intersection of Three Mile Creek and Conception St. Road. That site was already being used by Africatown locals for fishing in the spring and summer but they had to cut the bushes down and run off the snakes and gators after the winter ended to enjoy themselves. As a matter of fact, in the 1990’s a State Bass Fishing Tournament was held in Mobile and the winning Bass was caught in The Three Mile Creek near Lewis Landing.
The Community had the plans but no money to make the plans a reality. About 4 years ago The Mobile County Commission, Led by Commissioner Mercia Ludgood, purchased the property for the county. About 2 years ago, thanks to the efforts of Mrs. Ludgood and our State Representatives and State Senator in Montgomery, Gov. Ivey sent about $2.5 Million to Mobile for the renovation of Lewis Landing #1 to be transformed into a fishing pier with picnic tables and everything needed to improve the quality of outdoor life for residents in the area.
However, I am often reminded of one of my favorite lessons in church when I was a child where the pastor would say “Up Popped The Devil”. His lesson was to always keep your head on a swivel because just a soon as you think you have things lined up, “UP will pop the Devil” to screw things up again. I have never been to a concrete plant where dust and other unhealthy items were not in the air and a mask was not needed to breath freely and trucks were not moving in and out 24/7/365. This company, KIEWIT, admitted that trucks would be in and out all times of the day and night. No one in the meeting wanted that facility constructed there. A local attorney attending the meeting pointed out 4 other areas that are available other than the area they have chosen for their construction site. Including an area 2 miles from that site where other concrete plants have chosen to locate their facility.
The Africatown Community have been at odds with The Hosea Weaver Asphalt/Concrete Plant since 1999. That plant has destroyed Magazine Point’s Chin Street. During Hurricane Katrina gravel, sand and other items were washed into the houses when The Three Mile Creek flooded and those people have not been able to move back into their houses. This new concrete plant is less than 200 – 500 ft. from the entrance of our brand new Lewis Landing Fishing Pier & Picnic Area. This area is meant to be a sanctuary for those seeking relief from noise and other pollution in Africatown. Instead it seems to be another X placed in the game of “Tic-Tac-Toe” seemingly being played by businessmen in Mobile County.
