The Freedom Schooner Amistad left Freetown several monthes ago - but her spirit is still present there.   

The Lantern Parade Festival In Sierra Leone (history) in the capital Freetown on Saturday 26 April for its 47 Independent anniversary form British rule.Sierra Leone a country that have suffered an eleven year old civil war is back on its feet to be back in business.this parade was witness by his Excellency the vice President of Sierra Leone,Government ministers,Mayor of Freetown and very important Sierra Leoneans in Public offices.there were very impressive lantern form British handing over power and historic legacies such as LA Amistad the story of Sengbe Pieh and fifty two others who fought with there own hands to gain Freedom,Justice and equality.there were judges to witness the best lantern to climax the occasion.

Listen to Interview with Donald George (In Krio)
by DJ Hedd from African Diaspora Radio 

(click the arrow button below) 

Freedom Schooner Amistad,  will arrive in Charleston for Harbor Fest and Spoleto Festival USA on May 15th.  Charleston will be the first US port called by the ship since her departure from New England in June 2007.   Since than the Amistad visited many ports during her Atlantic Freedom Tour, allowing many communities to interpret the Tour's motto : "Confronting The Past - Transforming  The Future".

Amistad's vist together with the premiere of a newly revised version of Anthony Davis' opera "Amistad" at Spoleto Festival USA will give another chance  for Lowcountry and Charleston to confront its history as a slave-trading city in a slave-owning state.

Here are more events related to Amistad, the ship, and "Amistad," the Spoleto opera:

• - Amistad (the ship) will be anchored off Sullivan's Island during an afternoon remembrance ceremony there May 15. It'll then be escorted to Charleston Maritime Center by three tall ships, including Spirit of South Carolina, and will be open for tours May 16-18, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets are $5-$15.

• - Amistad (the ship) will be at dock for the Spoleto opera premiere and remain here until May 27.

• -- "Amistad" (the opera) composer Anthony Davis and director Sam Helfrich will talk with College of Charleston music professor Trevor Weston on May 22. 5:30 p.m. Recital Hall, College of Charleston. Free.

• - May 25, Martha Teichner will interview Davis and "Amistad" librettist Thulani Davis. 5 p.m. Recital Hall, College of Charleston. Free.

• -- May 26, Anthony Davis and Thulani Davis along with author Josephine Humphreys and historian Bernard Powers will talk about creating works of art based on historic events. Noon, Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, 125 Bull St. Free.

• - May 31, attorney Robert Rosen will lead a roundtable discussion of the Amistad (the ship) court case. 3 p.m. Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, 125 Bull St.. Free.

• - Gibbes Museum of Art will mount "Landscape of Slavery: The Plantation in American Art."

• - Tours of the Old Slave Mart Museum and walking tours will be led by historian Harlan Greene at 10 a.m. May 24, May 31, June 2 and June 7. $10. Call 579-3100.

• - Charleston County Public Library's Main Library will show a series of films related to Amistad (the ship) on the big screen. Free.

Charleston Maritime Center

Tour Freedom Schooner Amistad

Thursday, May 22 – Monday, May 26, 2008

Currently on an historic 14-month transatlantic voyage

retracing the infamous Atlantic slave trade triangle,

the Freedom Schooner Amistad,

a replica of the original ship, makes its first U.S. stop in Charleston.

General Tours: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm daily

$5 per person includes ship tour and exhibit

Private Tours: Friday & Saturday, May 23 & 24

$50 per person

includes tour, lecture, meet the Captain

To order tickets - 1.866.AMISTAD

PHOTO: Minister of Culture, of Cape Verde Islands, Dr. Manuel Veiga, with Clifton E. Graves, Jr., Vice President, AMISTAD America at recent function in Brockton, Massachusetts, sponsored by CABO.

In the aftermath of the Freedom Schooner Amistad's successful port visit to Cape Verde in March, 2008, the Cape Verdean community in New England recently honored Cape Verdean Minister of Culture, Dr. Manuel Veiga and his wife, the Honorable Ambassador, Dr. Fatima Veiga at a reception at the Restaurant Sodade in Brockton, Massachusetts.

The event, co-sponsored by CABO--the Cape Verdean American Business Owners Assoc.--also recognized and thanked AMISTAD America for including Cape Verde in the Atlantic Freedom Tour  schedule. AMISTAD America, represented by Vice-President Clifton E. Graves, Jr., used this occasion to thank both Minister Veiga for the Cape Verdean hospitality shown the Amistad crew and staff, and CABO for underwriting the Amistad visit.

The plan of AMISTAD America is to continue to build the relationship with the Cape Verdean community for future cooperative ventures including, but not limited to, visits to Providence, Rhode Island, and Nantucket, Massachusetts, with a possible return to Cape Verde in 2010 for that country's 35th anniversary of independence. Key to coordinating the Cape Verdean port visit were Ramiro Mendes, noted Cape Verdean producer/musician/artist, and Hartford attorney, Joseph Moniz.

Barbadians saying farewell to the crew of Amistad, the historically significant "freedom schooner" off the Flour Mill, Spring Garden yesterday.

BARBADIANS bade farewell to the historically significant "freedom schooner" Amistad yesterday, with songs, dances, speeches and an exchange of gifts.

Minister of Culture Steve Blackett said during the hour-long farewell ceremony off the Flour Mill, Spring Garden, St Michael that Barbadians needed to avoid simplifying or ignoring the significance of slavery and emancipation.

He urged them to build on what the recreation of the transatlantic journey undertaken by the schooner meant. The Amistad's mission is to educate the public on the history of slavery, discrimination and civil rights.

Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States' Embassy, Clyde Howard, described the schooner as a floating monument representing the triumph of good over evil.

"If by her presence the Amistad challenges us as villages, communities, towns and countries to reflect on our shared past, it should also cause us to see our imperfect present and look to a future where diversity is seen as one of mankind's greatest blessings," he said.

Accept differences

"I would argue that it is only by accepting each other's differences, whether it be in skin colour, nationality, gender or religion, that we ultimately accept ourselves."

Captain Eliza Garfield told the gathering that Barbados, the vessel's lone Caribbean stop, "will stand as a beacon in our experiences".

She spoke of busloads of students visiting the vessel daily "to get a feel or touch" and to ask searching questions before its departure for the United States.

Amistad is a near-replica of a ship of the same name on which a group of African captives revolted in July 1839, triggering a legal case that was a landmark in the history of slavery and emancipation.

The ship is heading to Charleston, South Carolina after having travelled to a number of British ports, Portugal, the Canary Islands and the Cape Verde Islands.

Eventually it will return to Connecticut in the United States.

AAI Webmaster's Comment : Barbados Free Press is jointly produced by Marcus, Robert, Cliverton and Shona - they published a very interesting piece that is right on target, answering the question 'Why should the Amistad continue to sail and visit as many places as possible?'  Each and every visit of the Freedom Schooner serves as a catalyst for conversations on race -  both, official, public ones and probably, more important - those private and intimate  - like the following one.

With the Amistad in town, a few of us who are café au lait (or “misto” for our loyal readers at Starbucks) might have a different perspective than some other folks… or maybe not. Everyone looks at the Amistad with their own eyes, but in our home the ship’s visit is a catalyst that makes us talk not only about the history of these fields, but about where we as individuals and as a family come from. Even one of our family who always says (or pretends to say) “skin colour don’t matter” finally admitted today that yes, skin colour still matters on this rock.

Not the way it used to, and not as some might think - but it still matters to some.

It is no secret that we have some relatives in New York, and when the girls get together whether in Bridgetown or Brooklyn, do you know what the sisters do first thing? Out come the arms and they put them side by side to see who’s lighter or darker on this visit. Little sister from NYC is always lighter in the winter, but darker in the summer because she works outside.

When they compare skin tones I always ask them why they do it. The answer is always an evasion or question about don’t I have something to do somewhere else - but they always do it first thing when they haven’t seen each other for a while.

I say “What does it matter?” and they laugh and say that it matters to them. Every time....

Read More... -  visit Barbados Free Press Blog 

(BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 8, 2008) – The highly anticipated public tours of the AMISTAD Freedom Schooner have been moved to the Flour Mill on Spring Garden.

The tours were scheduled to start on Sunday April 6 but were canceled due to unusual sea swells that continue to make it difficult for the ship to berth at Fort Willoughby.

According to Jo-Anne Pooler, general manager at Goddard Shipping & Tours, the official shipping agents for the AMISTAD, the move to the Flour Mill was to ensure that the general public is still afforded the opportunity to tour the historic vessel.

Tours will commence from tomorrow Tuesday April 8 through to April 16 as planned.

However, there will be no tours this Wednesday and possibly Thursday, to facilitate a tanker that was previously scheduled to occupy the area.

For further information persons are asked to contact the Barbados Tourism Authority at (246) 427-2623.

 

A new production of a freshly revised version of composer Anthony Davis's epic work Amistad will headline the 2008 Spoleto Festival USA.  Directed by Sam Helfrich with costumes by Kaye Voyce and an imaginative set by Caleb Wertenbaker, this highly anticipated new production will inaugurate the reopening of Memminger Auditorium, an historic theater in downtown Charleston that has just undergone extensive rehabilitation. 

Composed by Anthony Davis with a libretto by Thulani Davis, Amistad first premiered at Chicago's Lyric Opera in 1997.  The piece had not been performed since the Chicago run until Spoleto Festival USA commissioned Davis to revise the opera to bring this important story alive in a theatrically and musically vital way that would work within Memminger Auditorium.

The city of Charleston itself offers a unique backdrop for Amistad with its long connection to the history of the slave trade.  2008 is a year of particular significance as it marks the bicentennial of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, providing a particular resonance to the Spoleto production.    

The festival also plans numerous related events including artist talks and roundtables at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture; guided tours of the newly-renovated Old Slave Mart Museum followed by a walking tour of sites related to African-American history in Charleston and screenings of related films. In addition, the Freedom Schooner Amistad – a replica of the slave ship currently on an 18-month transatlantic voyage – will be docked at the Charleston Maritime Center from May 16 through the opening weekend of Spoleto Festival USA.

Please be informed that AMISTAD is still unable to enter the careenage due to the unusual sea swells. As a result, public tours will begin from Tuesday, April 8, 2008. There will be no tours on Sunday, April 6. In addition, the schedule of activities surrounding AMISTAD’s visit remains unchanged as outlined in the attached.

For further information, please feel free to contact:

Christal P. McIntosh
Corporate Communications Specialist
Barbados Tourism Authority
(246) 230-8784
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it g

• Sunday, 6th:  - Canceled
  

• Monday, 7th:   no public access 

• Tuesday, 8th:  11 a.m. –  6 p.m.

• Wednesday, 9th:  11 a.m. –  6 p.m.

• Thursday, 10th:  11 a.m. –  6 p.m.

• Friday, 11th:  11 a.m. –  6 p.m.

• Saturday, 12th:  no public access 

• Sunday, 13th:  12 Noon – 6 p.m.

• Monday, 14th:  no public access

• Tuesday, 15th:  11 a.m. –  6 p.m

• Wednesday, 16th:  11 a.m. –  6 p.m 

Please assemble at Fort Willoughby and note that the schooner cannot accommodate more than 40 persons at a time.

THE AMISTAD REPLICA had a welcome from the ancestors yesterday morning when a cultural presentation was done to welcome them to Barbados, their only Caribbean stop on this journey.

The Sankofa drummers and dancers provided the appropriate accompaniment to poet Adrian Green, who asked the ancestors to liberate the ship.

The audience, comprised of Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy, Minister of Culture Steve Blackett, along with president of the Barbados Tourism Authority, Stuart Layne, and other ministry officials, along with officials from the United States Embassy and the Amistad were also introduced to the HMS Landship, which is celebrating its 145th birthday.

Sealy said the ship's stop was a signal honour for Barbados and it was a nice fit with the heritage tourism efforts which Barbados was trying to develop.

"We celebrated the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade and we know that there have been many efforts by formal organisations – and otherwise – to increase the level of Afrocentricity in Barbadians and what that can mean for improving our self-worth . . . .