,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #cae  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september
 #ag1 #bjai ,mr4 ,jones submitted the   
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,energy and       
,natural ,resources  ,,resolution       
,memorializing the discovery of the     
,clotilda4  ,whereas1 from #aebe to     
#ahff1 the transatlantic slave trade    
resulted in more than #ab1jjj1jjj       
individuals being taken from their homes
 in ,africa and made to endure the      
horrors of the ,middle ,passage to the  
,americas1 where those individuals were 
forced into enslavement2 ,whereas1 on   
,march #b1 #ahjg1 ,congress enacted     
legislation banning the importation of  
enslaved people1 which went into effect 
on ,january #a1 #ahjh2 ,whereas1 in     
contravention of that ban1 the last     
enslaved ,africans forced to endure the 
voyage to the ,united ,states came      
aboard the ,clotilda1 which--  7#a7 left
 from ,whydah1 modern-day ,benin1 in    

,may of #ahfj2  7#b7 arrived in ,port of
 ,pines in ,grand ,bay1 ,mississippi1 on
 ,july #i1 #ahfj2 and  7#c7 was         
ultimately brought to ,mobile ,bay1     
,alabama1 on ,july #ad1 #ahfj1 carrying 
#aaj individuals1 including men1 women1 
and children2  ,whereas1 shortly after  
arrival in ,mobile ,bay1 ,alabama1 the  
,captain of the ,clotilda scuttled and  
burned the ship to the waterline in     
order to conceal the evidence of his    
crime2 ,whereas1 following the end of   
the ,civil ,war and the emancipation of 
enslaved ,africans1 some of the captives
 brought to the ,united ,states aboard  
the ,clotilda settled in the area now   
known as ,africatown1 ,alabama2         
,whereas1 on ,may #bb1 #bjai1 the       
,alabama ,historical ,commission and a  
team of scientists confirmed that a     
wreckage found in the ,twelve ,mile     
,island section of the ,mobile ,river   
was the ,clotilda2 ,whereas1 in the #afj
 years since the ,clotilda was brought  
to ,mobile ,bay1 the residents of       

,africatown1 ,alabama1 have played a    
critical role in preserving the unique  
and important heritage and traditions of
 their community2 ,whereas the          
,africatown ,historic ,district was     
listed on the ,national ,register of    
,historic ,places on ,december #d1      
#bjab1 and is home to a number of       
important historic sites1 including--   
7#a7 the ,mobile ,county ,training      
,school2  7#b7 the ,old ,landmark       
,baptist ,church1 now known as the      
,union ,baptist ,church2 and  7#c7 the  
,africatown ,cemetery1 where many of the
 individuals who survived the forced    
migration to the ,united ,states in     
#ahfj are buried3 ,now1 therefore1 be it
  ,that it is the sense of the ,senate  
that-- 7#a7 the recent confirmation of  
the wreckage of the ,clotilda1 the last 
slave ship to arrive in the ,united     
,states1 constitutes a monumental       
discovery of local1 national1 and       
international importance and educational
 value2  7#b7 discovery of the ,clotilda

 may serve as an inflection point for   
meaningful conversation about both past 
and present injustices2  7#c7 the       
residents of ,africatown1 ,alabama1     
embody a spirit of resilience and a     
determination to build a better         
community for their descendants2 and    
7#d7 all efforts should be made-- 7,a7  
to preserve and protect the ,clotilda   
and associated historic sites in        
,africatown1 ,alabama2 and  7,b7 to use 
the discovery of the ,clotilda to       
provide education to local1 national1   
and international audiences about-- 7i7 
the violent history of the transatlantic
 slave trade2  7ii7 the stories of the  
last enslaved ,africans to arrive in the
 ,united ,states2 and  7iii7 the rich   
and unique history of the community     
built by the descendants of those       
individuals4