Amistad America partners with UN for a week of activities in remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

The United Nations has designated March 25^th as an annual Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.  In December of 2007 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution the purpose of which is…

            “ to inculcate future generations with the causes, consequences and lessons of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery, in order to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice.”

This year the United Nations will sponsor several days of special programs to raise awareness of the 400-years of the slave trade. The Schooner Amistad provides an icon that represents the ideals behind the UN resolution. It serves as a vehicle for involving young people throughout the world with the issues of slavery, racism, and the universal quest for freedom and justice.

AMISTAD America will be primarily involved in two parts of the program.
Beginning on March 14^th in the main lobby there will be an exhibit that includes:

The Amistad Story: 10 panels that illustrate the story of the Amistad captives and their fight for freedom – video footage from the voyage

A replica of the sailing vessel Amistad
Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo -  Drawings by Tom Feelings, on loan from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

The final event on March 28^th will be the First Annual Global Student Videoconference in remembrance of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. This conference will use the experience of students at the sites Amistad visited on its 2007-2008 Atlantic Freedom Tour–Canada, England, Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, and St. Lucia–as a unifying theme to discuss the slave trade and its impact. Also participating will be students involved in a UN project in Norway, students from Sierra Leone (shipboard), and 200 students from New York, Connecticut, Maine, and Rhode Island at the United Nations Headquarters. 

The entire event will be webcast at www.cyberschoolbus.un.org and on our website www.amistadamerica.org. This will enable thousands of students around the world to participate “live”. The program will be from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm EDT. Captain Bill Pinkney will be the host at the UN. 

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