Freedom Schooner Amistad under full sail. (PRNewsFoto/Amistad America, Inc.)

NEW HAVEN, CT UNITED STATES

College students sail to build understanding and unity

NEW HAVEN, Conn., May 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AMISTAD America Chairman William Minter today announced the Freedom Schooner Amistad will be departing its home port of New Haven on June 21st for its 2007-2008 Atlantic Freedom Tour. This historic transatlantic voyage -- an epic 18-month journey commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the United Kingdom and next year in the United States -- will promote the values of understanding and unity represented by Amistad itself. The Freedom Schooner Amistad, the vessel for change, is a replica of the original ship that was commandeered by Africans who had been captured in 1839.

"We are pleased that the international community has embraced Amistad's Atlantic Freedom Tour," stated Chairman Minter. "This Tour represents an opportunity to share the values of Amistad -- freedom, collaboration, and justice -- with communities around the Atlantic Basin with a particular outreach to linking students of all ages."

Ten college students from the UK and the US will augment the initial crew of the Amistad when it sets sail on its voyage to retrace the infamous slave trade route. In addition to sailing duties, students will be responsible for class study on maritime and environmental studies, as well as the social and economic history of port cities and the legacy of the

slave trade. A total of 50 students from countries around the Atlantic Basin will participate as Amistad student/crew during the voyage. Through live web casts and email correspondence to participating schools and museums across the globe, students aboard the ship will share their learning experiences with other students of all ages. The web casts and

email are expected to connect several million students worldwide.

From its first stop in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Amistad will travel to England, arriving in London in early August in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Abolition Act passed by England's Parliament. The Amistad will then join in the Liverpool National Museum's public opening of the International Slavery Museum on August 23rd, the UNESCO designated Slavery Remembrance Day. The ship travels on to Bristol before continuing its voyage to Portugal and the West Coast of Africa, marking major points in the history of the slave trade.

In December the Amistad will sail into the harbor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, the original West African homeland of many of the Amistad captives. This symbolic "homecoming" will be a capstone event of the Atlantic Freedom Tour.

The Amistad will return to the United States via the Caribbean and Bermuda in Spring of 2008 and travel to multiple ports coming up the East Coast as the US commemorates the bicentenary of legislation to ban the importation of slaves.

Amistad America, Inc. is not-for-profit US based charity that promote improved relations between races and cultures through educational programs and Amistad schooner port visits.

To find out more about the Amistad Atlantic Freedom Tour, visit

The Amistad Story

In 1839, 53 Africans were kidnapped from West Africa and sold into the transatlantic slave trade. Shackled aboard the Portuguese slave vessel Tecora, the 49 men and four children were brought to Havana, Cuba, where they were fraudulently classified as native, Cuban-born slaves. Purchased illegally by Spanish planters Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montez, they were transferred to the schooner Amistad for transport to another part of the island. Three days into the journey, led by a 25-year-old Mende rice farmer named Sengbe Pieh, or "Cinque" to his Spanish captors, the Africans seized the ship, killed the captain and the cook, and ordered the planters to sail to Africa. After 63 days, La Amistad and her "cargo" were seized as salvage by the USS Washington near Montauk Point, Long Island, and towed to New

London harbor. The Africans were held in a New Haven jail on charges of murder. The case took on historic proportions when former President John Quincy Adams successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the captives. In 1841, the 35 surviving Africans were returned to Africa.

Important Media Dates:

June 4: Press conference with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, Admiralty Boardroom, London

June 21: Farewell Ceremony for Amistad. Press opportunity scheduled.

SOURCE Amistad America, Inc.

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