Amistad Ship Welcomed at the Maritime Museum

By Jennifer L. Warren

KINGSTON – “The history of America is a history of the sea.”
Lisa Clines, Executive Director, Hudson River Maritime Museum affirmed. Reflecting upon the significance of the Amistad anchoring at the Kingston Waterfront Saturday, August 3, through today, August 7, she added, “These ships bring stories of our history to life in a tangible way.”

The most recently resurrected tale involved the 129 foot Top Sail Schooner replica of the 19th Century Ship, La Amistad. Familiar to many for its 1939 uprising of enslaved passengers from Sierra Leon, the Amistad symbolizes freedom, as those captives went on to overthrow the crew, taking the helm of the Amistad, steering it into the waters off the coast of New York. The Maritime Museum was proud to play host to the critical teaching of that famous enslaved African’s Flight for Freedom aboard the ship dubbed the “Baltimore Clipper.” That education was in the form of both information-packed guided and self tours.

“We had a couple of hundred people attend each day over the weekend,” said Chris Menapace, Director of Education at Discovering Amistad. “The people, a lot of which came with their families, seemed to really enjoy us coming here; they were very receptive to the information about the Ship as well as our mission.”

In addition to the tours, the five days featured a movie on the Amistad events, lecture, music and other entertainment, bringing a deep, rich historical story to life, while forging the past with present.

“The reason we do this is to really teach the curriculum on this ship; the mission to teach the freedom fight is so people will unite and fight for human rights,” added Menapace. “Not only was this an extremely important event, but it can teach us a lot about modern life issues.

Those topics, such as racism and human rights, were a major catalyst behind the integral need to retell this inspiring freedom fight involving a landmark United States Supreme Court Case. It was a vision aimed at crafting a floating exhibit-classroom of sorts- equipped with a crew, who navigated port to port, while relaying facets about the unforgettable Amistad and its timeless lessons of unity and better relations.

“The Amistad is a fascinating story that ends with a very, very positive outcome of the emancipation of slaves and the laws around that; it’s powerful to stand on the ship and visualize the conditions on the ship, to conjure up what it would have been like to be out at sea in this vessel,” said Clines. “Visiting ships, like the Amistad, give us places to think, grow, learn, wonder and feel; these ships serve to preserve and promote social interests as diverse and unique as the people who visit them.”

To learn more about the Amistad, log onto: https:www.hrmm.org/amistad.html. For further details on the Hudson River Maritime Museum, visit: www.hrmm.org.