By Robert Hirsch

In 1839, fifty-three Africans were ille-gally kidnapped from West Africa (pres-ent day Sierra Leone) and sold into thetransatlantic slave trade. The captiveswere transported to Havana and placedon the cargo schooner, La Amistad(ironically meaning friendship inSpanish), for transport to another partof the island. Three days into the jour-ney the victims revolted and took overthe ship. After sailing for 63 days theship was seized and towed into theharbor of New London, CT. TheAfricans were jailed on murder

charges. Their struggle becameAmerica’s first human rights case, suc-cessfully argued before the UnitedStates Supreme Court by formerPresident John Quincy Adams. TheUnited Church of Christ and othersinvolved in the anti-slavery movementraised money to pay for the captives’legal fees and helped repatriate the 35survivors to Africa in 1841. StevenSpielberg’s 1997 film by the same namebrought world attention to this story.

On September 10 – 14, 2003, the129-foot wooden recreation of this

nineteenth century ship, operated byAmistad America, a non-profit organiza-tion, will be moored at the Erie BasinMarina on Buffalo’s waterfront. For amodest admission, the public will beable to tour the Amistad. Dockside pre-sentations by the crew will inform thepublic about the contributions of peo-ple of African descent. Also presentwill be two other boats, that can beboard free of charge, and live entertain-ment. The captain of the Amistad,William "Bill" Pinkney, is the onlyAfrican American and the fourthAmerican to solo-circumnavigate theglobe by sail via the Southern oceanRoute under Cape Horn. Pinkney com-mands a diverse crew of twelve profes-sional sailors who man the Amistad.

Recently national security adviserCondoleezza Rice reminded us "Africais part of America’s history. Europeansand Africans came to this countrytogether,Africans in chains. And slaverywas, of course,America's birth defect.And we've been trying to deal with theconsequences of it ever since." Here inNew York we often think of slavery asbeing a Southern problem, yet the 1790U.S. census reported New York had21,000 slaves out of a total populationof 340,000 people and that freedom forall blacks in New York did not happenuntil Independence Day 1827.

The success of the Amistad caseremains a historical milestone for thefocus and strength that it brought to abudding abolitionist movement. It ledto the formation of the AmericanMissionary Association (AMA), which

established more than 500 schools inthe South before, during and after theCivil War including Fisk University,Hampton Institute, and AtlantaUniversity. The AMA founded theAmistad Research Institute in 1966 todocument the history of people ofcolor in American and the struggle forcivil rights and justice. The impetus forbuilding the Amistad came from WarrenQ. Marr II, former editor of theNAACP’s The Crisis magazine, whowanted to foster unity among peopleof diverse background and improverace relations. The Amistad was con-structed at the Mystic Seaport withhelp from students in Connecticutvocational schools and was launched inMarch 2000.The homeport for theAmistad is Long Wharf Pier in NewHaven, Connecticut.

The Amistad Host Committee ischaired by former Buffalo CommonCouncil President George K.Arthur andcomposed of community leadersincluding Buffalo State CollegePresident Muriel Howard who is chair-ing the Education Subcommittee,which is responsible for putting togeth-er a comprehensive interdisciplinaryplan to involve educators and studentsin the Amistad story.

Recently I talked with George Arthurabout the visit and its ramifications inthe Buffalo area. Here are excerptsfrom our conversation.

Robert Hirsch: With its reputationas a segregated city, what is the signif-icance of the Amistad visit for

Buffalonians today?

George Arthur: The visit offers anunusual opportunity for Buffalo andWestern New York to come together asa single community and think aboutthe human issues of equality and jus-tice that affect all of us. In the contextof the first human rights trial in theUnited States, it is a chance to have ameaningful dialogue about race rela-tions and how we can improve thatrelationship in Western New York.

RH. How does it connect withBuffalo’s legacy as part of theUnderground Railroad?

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ARTS CONTINUED

The Amistad: A Freedom Schooner

All photos Courtesy of Key Bank

9AUGUST|2003

GA. It is a continuing lesson that itis possible for people, regardless ofrace, creed or color, to work togetherto improve the collective human con-dition.

RH. What is going to happen dur-ing the visit?

GA. The Amistad can serve as anicon and catalyst for teaching chil-dren the lessons of cooperation, jus-tice, leadership, and perseverance.The vessel is a floating laboratorywhere young people of different back-grounds can learn the importance ofworking together. Each morning thatthe ship is here will be reserved forschool visits. We hope that it will be amemorable experience for them andprovide a living and lasting historylesson that carries over into theirdaily life.

RH. How might business, commu-nity, and religious leaders get togetherto deal social and economic issuesthat surround the Amistad project?

GA. To combat a lack of communi-ty involvement in these issues we areplanning a Talk Back project that willengage people in discussion that willlook for solutions that can helpchange the image and reputation ofour area.

The Buffalo and Erie CountyHistorical Society, KeyBank,Tops, ErieCounty, and United Church of Christmake the Amistad visit possible. Due tothe limited size of the ship, it is highlyrecommended to get your tour ticketsearly to avoid disappointment. Ticketsfor the public will be time sold forevery half hour from 1:00 PM to 6:00PM at the cost of $5.00 for adults and$3.00 for children (mornings are

reserved for schoolgroups). Tickets are avail-able at all Tops Marketsand www.tickets.com.

Additional informationis available at 716/873-9644, ext. 379. Detailedinformation about theAmistad can be found at:www.amistadamerica.org.

A driving tour of theUnderground Railroad inthe Buffalo Niagararegion can be found at:www.buffalocvb.org/driving_tours_17.html