Dear friends,

It’s me, your friend, John A. Kamara, AKA Johnnie Be Good.  I have been thinking about you all since I came back to the States.  You have been there for me, especially my wife, Altamese Kamara, my son Kyle, my daughter Keturah, Quentin Snediker, Wayne Bartow, and all my friends at Mystic Seaport, in Ohio, Africa, and the rest of the world.  Presently I am on board the Freedom Schooner Amistad sailing across the ocean to go back home to Freetown, Sierra Leone. 

That was the dream of the fifty-three Africans who are my ancestors, and I am standing in the shoes of Sengbe Pieh and the rest of the Sierra Leonean captives.  Reading all these books concerning the abolition of slavery and going to all these countries and states where slavery took place makes me sad thinking about how people can treat other people wrong, enslave people, and benefit from their labor.  But today we are celebrating the Freedom Tour, and I am going to take home hope to the people of Sierra Leone and the rest of the world and knowledge about the evil of slavery and how we can turn these things around and make our world a better place.  So far so good and fine!  The crew, the students and I are doing great.  We came across whales, dolphins, a sea turtle, sharks, and …a seagull!  We have seen fog, heavy wind, and rough seas, but this week we have seen nice sunny weather.  I want you all to pass this message to the people of Sierra Leone: There is help on the way.  We have to change our attitude, and put the interests of Sierra Leone and the people first.  We have come a long way.  We need a positive change in our life now.  It is my dream to help the people of Sierra Leone and any support that can be given would be greatly appreciated by Amistad and the people of Sierra Leone.  Please contact Amistad America or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like to help in any way.  I am going to be sailing on the Amistad into the harbor of Freetown with special thanks to the sponsors and donors of the Amistad Freedom Tour, staff and crew, and students as well.  Thank you so much!  Your friend, John Kamara. 

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