Kazoola Cudjo Kazoola Lewis Hoodie

His name was Oluale Kossola. In Mobile they called him Cudjo Lewis. When writer Emma Langdon Roche recorded his story in 1914, he asked to be known by the name from home, and she wrote it down as Kazoola.

Kazoola was born around 1841 among the Yoruba of the Banté region, in what is now Benin. In the spring of 1860, soldiers of the kingdom of Dahomey raided his town. He was marched to the coast at Ouidah, held in a barracoon for three weeks, then forced aboard the Clotilda with 109 other captives. That was more than fifty years after the United States had outlawed the import of enslaved people. The ship slipped into Mobile at night in July 1860 and was burned and sunk to hide the crime.

He was enslaved for five years. When freedom came in 1865, he spoke for his shipmates and asked for land. They were refused, so they worked, saved and bought it themselves, and built African Town on the hill north of Mobile. Kazoola helped found it and later cared for its church as sexton. In 1927 and 1928, Zora Neale Hurston recorded his life in his own words. Her book, Barracoon, was finally published in 2018. Kazoola once said that if he had wings, he would fly back home. He died in 1935, one of the last survivors of the Clotilda.

This hoodie carries his name the way he asked for it to be carried.

The hoodie: Champion S700 Powerblend Hooded Sweatshirt in black. 9 oz 50/50 cotton/poly fleece, relaxed fit, two-ply hood with a dyed-to-match drawcord and metal grommets, front pouch pocket, ribbed cuffs and waistband, Champion “C” logo on the left sleeve. Sizes S to 3XL.

The print: Grey varsity KAZOOLA lettering on the front. On the back, a portrait of Cudjo Kazoola Lewis and his story. A Vizionary hip tag at the waistband. Full-color DTF, pressed in Columbus, Ohio.

Shipping: Most items are made to order and printed in Columbus, Ohio. Please allow 7–10 business days for your order to ship. Need it sooner? Contact me right away and I’ll do my best to make it happen.