BRADENTON, Fla. — Daphney Towns came to Bradenton from The Bahamas in 1992 to train as a missionary, however, she would find another important calling two decades later.
Towns said she had a vision that was calling her, but she wasn't sure what to search for.
“Hidden treasures in the sand,” Towns describes in reference to a scripture.
The treasures would be found at Manatee Mineral Springs Park in 2017, where she said she learned more about the settlement of Angola and its link to Red Bays on Andros Island in The Bahamas.
Oral history about Angola would be passed down through family, Towns said, but that's as far as it got.
"I’m grateful to say that over 200 years later, I’m here to say, ‘Hey, we’re alive.' We were once here,” Towns said.
Angola was a Maroon community of freedom seekers. They were former enslaved Africans and Seminole Indians who settled along the Manatee River, among other locations nearby. While their history is vast, much of the focus is between the years of 1812 and 1821 when historians said they found a haven for freedom.
Historians said the community of Angola was destroyed in 1821 under the direction of General Andrew Jackson when Spain turned over Florida to the U.S. After the violent raids, a number of Angola’s people eventually made their way to Red Bays.
Many of its descendants are still alive today.
Vickie Oldham of Sarasota had heard about Angola before, but the information was limited. Her interest led to more research and excavations confirming the evidence of Angola's past.
Oldham founded the “Looking For Angola” project, which served as the catalyst to uncover Angola. She now serves as president of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition and founder of Newtown Alive.
“They were saying that the story was a myth,” Oldham said. “How glad I am that that journalism instinct kept asking questions and finally, my questions have been answered.”
Oldham said the work has come full circle with descendants able to connect more with their roots. However, she said there is more to learn about this vast history.
Previous excavations took place in areas like Manatee Mineral Springs Park thanks to those like Dr. Uzi Baram, which led to evidence of Angola’s past and other parts of history.
“While the descendants from Angola have family memories, we don't have a written record of what occurred here, except by those who sought to destroy this community,” said Baram, Selby Gardens director of public archaeology.
Baram is now building a new report to keep Angola’s stories alive to the public, among other duties. Much of the work is happening at De Soto National Memorial under commission from the National Park Service, Baram said.
To honor the past, Towns now organizes the annual “Back To Angola” festival. She said she held the first festival within months of learning about Angola’s history.
“I said, ‘How am I going to get this history out?’ And I said, ‘We’re going to do a festival. We're going to take this history off of this marker, and we're going to bring it alive,'” Towns said.
Towns said she used up most of her retirement fund for the first festival. It appears to have paid off.
Since then, the annual festival has grown and has become an opportunity for her to honor her past, along with other descendants.
The celebration consists of culture, music and food, among other traditions. It’s also a celebration that Towns said is meant for all.
“I can’t even describe it. You have to see it to believe it,” Towns said. “If you’re part of the human race, it’s for you.”
Efforts to honor and learn more about Angola’s past have seen support through several partnerships including Reflections of Manatee, which includes an exhibit dedicated to Angola.
The annual Back To Angola festival will take place this year on Oct. 19-20 at Manatee Mineral Spring Park.
If you’d like to learn more about Angola, visit this link.