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Upcoming Webinar: TRAVEL, TOURISM & HOSPITALITY webinar on Saturday, February 18, 2023
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ABOUT MUBITA, LLC

In August 2019, Eric Anthony Sheppard was blessed to be given the Lozi name "Mubita" by The Litunga (King) His Majesty Lubosi Imwiko II of the Barotseland Kingdom (Western Province, Zambia) during the inaugural Africa Homecoming Pilgrimage (YouTube video) to commemorate the 400 year milestone of the transatlantic slave trade era, under British rule starting in 1619 at Jamestown, Virginia (USA). The name "Mubita" means "one who is passing through and leads others" or "one here to stay." Mubita initially met the Litunga during his first visit to the Barotseland Kingdom in June 2017, and he made a promise to the Litunga to bring back others to commemorate the 400 year milestone in 2019. After visiting Barotseland, Mubita found a striking resemblance of the history of slavery in the Kingdom to his research of the Maroon ancestors escaping into the Great Dismal Swamp, seeking freedom from slave owners who held them captive. The Litunga (King) Mulambwa Santulu, the 10th King of Barotseland, designated Barotseland as a refuge for enslaved Angolans and others from neighboring enslaved tribes who escaped from the Arab slave traders in the early 1800's. It is because of this similar history that Mubita brought together the history of the Barotseland Kingdom and the Maroon ancestors of the Great Dismal Swamp to form Mubita, LLC.
Because of Mubita's historical research and inspiration from his own ancestor, Moses Grandy and his 1843 slave narrative, he also established a Strategic Tourism Partnership between the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Suffolk, Virginia and the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) in the Barotseland Kingdom. The strategic tourism partnership will help develop heritage tourism, trade and restore relationships between descendants of American Africans and Africans on the Continent. Barotseland in Western Province, Zambia will be the location for his planned Homecoming Headquarters at Restoration Center.

MOSES GRANDY: THE ANCESTOR WHO INSPIRED MUBITA

Moses Grandy was a formerly enslaved ancestor who was born in Camden County, North Carolina around 1786, and ancestor of Eric "Mubita" Sheppard. Moses had his life story documented in an 1843 slave narrative entitled, The Life of Moses Grandy; Late a Slave in the United States of America, by the British & Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (known today as Anti-Slavery International) in London, England. After paying for his freedom THREE (3) times, Moses was finally freed circa 1830, prior to the Nat Turner rebellion insurrection. He eventually purchased the freedom of his wife, son and other Grandy family members with the proceeds from the slave narrative sales and his European speaking tour. In June 2020, Mubita LLC adapted the Moses Grandy slave narrative into an audiobook called Moses Grandy Legacy Lives. The audiobook is a great primary source for anyone who wants to learn more about Moses' freedom story and life being enslaved around the Great Dismal Swamp area of NC and VA. Click the link to learn more about the story and how to download it from our website. The narrative is the story of tragedy, triumph, perseverance, family and entrepreneurship, while exposing the complexity of slavery and race relations in America. This is a must read for all Americans and people globally. Historians have said that Moses Grandy's slave narrative is the only known firsthand written account of how enslaved and freed Africans hand dug the 22-mile long historic Dismal Swamp Canal between North Carolina and Virginia, in the Great Dismal Swamp. The Great Dismal Swamp became a refuge for enslaved people (Maroons) escaping the surrounding plantations. In 2003, the Great Dismal Swamp and Canal were designated as an official Underground Railroad (UGRR) site by the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service’s "Network to Freedom" Program.

Wall of Return

wall Sponsorship
(Click on Video Below to View)
Mubita, LLC has started pre-construction planning and preliminary engineering surveying for the WALL OF RETURN projects on the 300 acres of land granted in Barotseland of Western Province, Zambia by the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE). 12 Walls will represent a symbolic "homecoming" back to Africa for our Ancestors.
The first 2 Walls will list the names of our enslaved ancestors who had slave narratives published about their lives and enslaved ancestors that labored in the Great Dismal Swamp, Maroons that escaped slavery and found refuge in the swamp and supporters of the Underground Railroad connected to the Great Dismal Swamp and Canal (VA/NC). 2 additional Walls will be erected for listing top sponsors. Individual sponsors ($10.00 or more) will be listed in our online database for digital signage display when Restoration Center is completed. The remaining 8 Walls will have a variety of themes listing the names of enslaved, freedom seeking and freedom supporting ancestors in American history.
To learn more about sponsoring the WALL OF RETURN funding campaign please view the video to the right. Email info@Mubita.net or contact Eric Sheppard at (757) 395-0768 to find out about sponsorship levels. WE CAN HEAL TOGETHER!

MUBITA LLC HERITAGE TOURISM INITIATIVES

***GENERAL PUBLIC HERITAGE TOURISM SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES***
Africa homecoming headquarters
$10.00 or more
homecoming & heritage tourism SPONSORSHIP
 $10.00 or more
Mubita Air CHARTER FLIGHT INitiative
$10.00 or moRe
ADDITIONAL HERITAGE TOURISM PROJECTS REFLECTION PIER AT THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (Suffolk, VA)Mubita LLC, in collaboration with the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Suffolk, VA, dedicated a new memorial plaque to be placed at the Refuge's Lake Drummond pier to honor the memory of Moses Grandy, the Maroon enslaved and free freedom seekers, Indigenous ancestors and freedom supporters of all races, all being associated with the Great Dismal Swamp. The pier is now named Reflection Pier. In his 1843 slave narrative, Moses described his experience living in the Dismal Swamp at Lake Drumond, as he healed from his wounds he got by laboring on the Dismal Swamp Canal contruction. Reflection Pier is now a major heritage destination tourism attraction for visitors from around the world to visit and pay homage to those who live and/or worked in the Great Dismal Swamp area and also used the Swamp to gain their freedom as part of the Underground Railroad (UGRR) system. The Pier is also a place for the public to reflect and heal from personal and/or systemic trauma, resulting in healing of the mind, body and spirit, similar to the effects of freedom that our Ancestors found in this place of refuge. To learn more about the Great Dismal Swamp as a Refuge for People, click on the Wavy 10 TV's video link Road to Reconciliation: Redemption's Refuge. To help sponsor any of the Mubita LLC Heritage Toursim groundbreaking projects, please click on the HOMECOMING & HERITAGE TOURISM INITIATIVES links above.
Great Dismal Swamp Ancestors Day of Remembrance-Reflection Pier Dedication (August 6, 2022)
NEED MORE INFORMATION? For more information or to inquiry about all Mubita LLC EUF network, Africa projects or sponsorship opportunities for the Wall of Return, Restoration Center or Mubita Air Charter initiatives, contact Eric Sheppard, CEO/Founder at info@Mubita.net or call +1 (757) 395-0768.