When the Freedom Schooner Amistad appears at the entrance of Shelburne harbour on Friday, it will signify the beginning of a weekend of events celebrating the 225th anniversary of the arrival of the black loyalists in Nova Scotia. It will be a homecoming of sorts too, for on board will be sisters Haley and Nina Cox, former residents of Shelburne who have been serving as volunteer crew members with the vessel as it completes the Atlantic Freedom Tour, a 14,000-mile (23,000 km.) transatlantic voyage to Great Britain, Lisbon, West Africa and the Caribbean to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade in Britain (1807) and the United States (1808).

Webmaster's Comment: Interesting exchange of the opinions was published by The Duluth News Tribune.  "Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail" book and Amistad are mentioned there as examples and the story echoes many a vivid discussion held on the deck of the Freedom Schooner Amistad. Other tall ships of historical value are mentioned as well .

...don’t they (Owners of Mayflower replica) also have a responsibility to accurately portray the colonists’ political viewpoints? How about showing the head of Massachusett Indian chief Wituwamat impaled on a stick at the plantation’s gate, which records clearly show would have been visible during the period depicted?

“Well, yes, but how far should we go? We don’t want to scare tourists,” I recall the director answering...

Robin Washington is the News Tribune’s editorial page editor.

Doug Bowen-Bailey and Mari Trine are members of the Duluth Anti-Racism Coalition.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House of Representatives was poised Tuesday to pass a resolution apologizing to African-Americans for slavery and the era of Jim Crow.

The House is poised to pass a resolution that would apologize for slavery and Jim Crow.

The nonbinding resolution, which is expected to pass, was introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen, a white lawmaker who represents a majority black district in Memphis, Tennessee.

While many states have apologized for slavery, it will be first time a branch of the federal government will apologize for slavery if the resolution passes, an aide to Cohen said.

By passing the resolution, the House would also acknowledge the "injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow."

"Jim Crow," or Jim Crow laws, were state and local laws enacted mostly in the Southern and border states of the United States between the 1870s and 1965, when African-Americans were denied the right to vote and other civil liberties and were legally segregated from whites.

Two years ago, three African Nova Scotian teenagers sailed aboard Freedom Schooner Amistad from Halifax to Portland, Maine.

Julian Colley, and Courtney Williams from East Preston, and Brandon Tolliver from Coal Harbour became the heroes of a short video documentary that was aired by the CBC in September 2006. This video quickly became the most popular clip on Amistad's YouTube Channel as well as one of the most popular Tall Ship clips.

I would love to meet them again. Please help me trace my Nova Scotian sailing buddies; watch the video and maybe you will recognize them. Where are they now?

Please leave your hints as a comment below. Please do not post any phone numbers or addresses. If you know them, please This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .