Discovering Amistad

08/24/2026

Announcement! 📣

We are so excited to announce our new Board Leadership!
But first, we must take a moment to thank our outgoing Chair, Robert King (image fourth from left) and Vice Chair, Sally Whipple (image third from right). Your commitment to our mission and your leadership has helped us expand our reach all across the state. We couldn't have done it without you both. So, thank you.

Now, a BIG congratulations to our new Board Chair, Nicholas Caruso (image second from right), and Board Vice Chair Dr. Karen Francis- Barnes (image third from left).
We are so very excited to see what their expertise, dedication, and leadership does to further advance the DA mission and Amistad Legacy.

A few words from Nick "[...]Being part of Discovering Amistad allows me to help get the story out to generations of students, and adults, who can learn from the example of the Mende, and those who stood up to help them, so they can stand against social or racial injustice when they encounter it. [...]I hope that my time as chair will help keep Connecticut’s flagship sailing proudly.

A few words from Dr. Francis- Barnes: "The story of the Amistad is a powerful reminder that ordinary people can take extraordinary stands for freedom and justice. [...] I am grateful for the opportunity to continue this work in a new leadership role as Vice Chair. I look forward to helping expand the reach of this important story, deepen its connection to social justice, and ensure that its lessons continue to inspire meaningful change.

Congratulations to everyone!

08/14/2026

Did you know?

The headline of the Amistad story is often told as the Maritime Revolt for Freedom. But the Mende had to fight many times and in many ways along their journey home. Their supreme court case is still used in Law schools today and is often referred to the first international civil rights case here in the USA. And its all because the sitting president wanted to be reelected and needed to appease southern states.

Fifty-three Africans broke free from their chains aboard a slave ship in 1839. Years later, a man who had already served as President of the United States stood up to argue for their freedom before the nation's highest court.

Sengbe Pieh, later known as Joseph Cinqué, led the revolt on July 2, 1839. The schooner La Amistad was sailing along the coast of Cuba, carrying the captives toward a life of forced labor on a sugar plantation.

The captives had been kidnapped from Sierra Leone months earlier and sold at a slave market in Havana. Spain had banned the international slave trade back in 1820, which meant the sale itself broke Spanish law.

During the uprising, the ship's captain and cook lost their lives. Two crew members escaped by lifeboat, leaving two Spanish slaveholders alive to navigate the ship.

Cinqué ordered the Spaniards to sail east, back toward Africa. Instead, they steered north under cover of night, hoping to reach a Spanish port instead.

The plan failed. On August 26, 1839, a U.S. Navy brig intercepted the Amistad off Long Island, New York, and towed it into New London, Connecticut.

What followed was a two-year legal battle. A federal court in New Haven ruled in January 1840 that the Africans had never been anyone's legal property.

The government appealed. Abolitionist Lewis Tappan needed someone with enough standing to win over a Supreme Court where seven of the nine justices came from Southern states.

He turned to John Quincy Adams — the sixth President of the United States, by then a 73-year-old congressman from Massachusetts. Adams almost said no.

He worried his memory had faded and his courtroom skills had gone rusty after more than thirty years away from arguing cases. Abolitionists convinced him anyway, visiting his home in Quincy on October 27, 1840.

Adams stood before the Supreme Court in February 1841 and argued for more than eight hours across several sessions. His case rested on one simple idea: these were free people who had been kidnapped, not property that had changed hands.

On March 9, 1841, the Court ruled 7 to 1 in the Africans' favor. Justice Joseph Story wrote that people who had been illegally enslaved could not be treated as lawful property under American law.

The victory came with a catch. President Tyler refused to spend federal money sending the survivors home, so abolitionists raised the funds themselves.

Only 35 of the original 53 captives had survived the ordeal. In November 1841, they boarded a ship called the Gentleman and sailed for Sierra Leone, arriving in January 1842.

Adams kept serving in Congress until 1848, when he suffered a stroke on the floor of the U.S. Capitol and passed away shortly after.

His work on the Amistad case remains one of the clearest examples of a former president stepping back into public life for a cause bigger than himself.

08/03/2026

Last week we had the honor of joining The Amistad Commission, in NJ, for their "Summer Institute" where hundreds of school teachers comes together in a week of professional development. This image shows Director of Education, Chris Menapace, teaching the Amistad history to over 200 teachers!

Thank you so much for having us!

07/31/2026

Congratulations to all of the LEAP students that graduated from the Amistad Leadership Academy tonight!

These students spent 20 hours learning arts, culture, and leadership through various workshops.

Together they created this amazing Amistad Mural along with New Haven artist Kwadwo Adae. And tonight we unveiled it for the first time. Once the finishing touches are done this Murel will be displayed throughout the state of CT.

We would like to thank our Community Initiatives Manager, Reeshemah Norfleet and DA Educator Michael Sawyer for all your hard work on this academy of 50 kids. It was no small feet.

Special thank you to our sponsors: The City of New Haven and the New Alliance Foundation.

Well done all!

07/16/2026

Missed our May 1st event celebrating James Mars Day? Watch the video here!

Thank you Connecticut Democracy Center for capturing and hosting this momentous occasion!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-feIDAVtWlU

07/11/2026

A huge thank you to Farmington Historical Society for taking the staff of Discovering Amistad on their Odyssey of the Amistad A Trail to Freedom walking tour!

This tour does an exceptional job at detailing the time the Amistad Africans spent in Farmington, after they were deemed free by the US Supreme Court. Check out tour availability at www.fhs-ct.org

07/03/2026

A letter from Paula on this 250th Independence Day
Friends and partners,

As Executive Director of Discovering Amistad, I’m honored to invite you to mark America’s 250th year by reflecting on a story that continues to guide our path forward: the 1839 Amistad uprising and the courageous pursuit of freedom led by the 53 Mende Africans. Their journey—from resistance at sea to a landmark Supreme Court decision affirming their liberty—reminds us that the American experiment is at its best when it bends toward justice, community, and shared humanity.

America’s 250th is an opportunity to acknowledge the importance of addressing the inequities that are still woven into the fabric of this country. At Discovering Amistad, we are committed to utilizing the Amistad Freedom Schooner as a platform to share stories of “unsung heroes” that contributed greatly to American History.

Our Mission is Underway — On Shore!
This Semiquincentennial year, Discovering Amistad is carrying that legacy into classrooms, libraries, museums, and community venues across the region. While our schooner remains docked this season as we complete the work to secure and install new masts, our mission is powerfully underway on shore. Our educators, crew, and storytellers are engaging students, families, and community leaders in programs that connect the Amistad story to today’s work for equity and civic participation.

Here’s how you can join us:

Engage with our 250th programming. We’re partnering with institutions across Connecticut and the Northeast for talks, living‑history events, and hands‑on learning experiences that illuminate the Amistad case and its modern resonances. Visit here often for the most up‑to‑date schedule.

Bring students aboard. Our shipboard curriculum travels with us. Whether on the pier, in a library, or in your school, students explore leadership, resilience, and civic voice through the lens of Sengbe Pieh’s ingenuity and the community that rallied for justice.

Help us rig the future. We are in a multi‑year effort to fund and step new masts so the Amistad can sail again. Your support — through donations, sponsorships, or introductions — directly restores this “freedom schooner” and keeps its lessons alive for the next generation.

Host a conversation. The Amistad story is a bridge. We’d be honored to partner with your organization to convene dialogue on freedom, belonging, and the responsibilities of citizenship at 250 years.

America 250 is not only a birthday; it is a mirror. The Amistad teaches that progress is made when ordinary people act with courage, when communities stand together, and when institutions honor the promise of the law. As we celebrate this milestone, let’s recommit to that work—locally, tangibly, and with hope.

Thank you for walking with us. I look forward to seeing you at an event this season and welcoming you aboard when the Amistad returns for the 2027 Voyage for Freedom.

With gratitude and resolve,

Paula Mann-Agnew CSW, MSW
Executive Director
Discovering Amistad
[email protected]