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2002

December 24, 2002

Contact::Lisa Petrone at 294-2633 ext. 28

FREEDOM SCHOONER AMISTAD IN KEY WEST
JANUARY 7-16, 2003

The Freedom Schooner Amistad arrives in Key West on Tuesday, January 7 at the Hilton Pier for ten days of tours and related events. The schooner, which visits ports nationally and internationally as an ambassador for friendship and goodwill, will be available for public tours while in port on weekday afternoons between January 8-16 from 2 and 5 p.m. and on weekends from 9-12 and 2-5.  $5 tour tickets are on sale at Mel Fisher Museum and all proceeds go to Amistad America, Inc.  A combination ticket for a tour of the Maritime Museum and its latest exhibit, “The Last Slave Ships”, as well as the Amistad tour, is available for $12.  

The Amistad schooner is a reconstruction of the historic La Amistad.  In 1839, 53 Africans were kidnapped from West Africa and brought to Cuba aboard the Portuguese slave ship Tecora and illegally classified as slaves upon arrival in Cuba. The captives were purchased by two Spaniards and brought aboard the coastal cargo schooner La Amistad.  The Africans revolted, seized the ship, and eventually were recaptured off the coast of New England.  Abolitionists who sought to free them and return them to Africa took up their cause.  In the first human rights case to be argued in the American court system on behalf of Africans, former President John Quincy Adams successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the captives.  In 1841, the 35 surviving Africans were returned to Africa.

The Amistad incident of 1839 gave vision, focus and strength to the abolishment movement and provided the opportunity for people of all colors to work together toward the abolition of slavery.

The visit of the Amistad will be recognized at the Key West City Commission meeting on Tuesday, January 7 where the key to the city will be presented to Freedom Schooner Amistad Captain William Pinkney.  Captain Pinkney, who lectured at the Museum this past October, is the first African American and fifth American to solo-circumnavigate the earth by sail via Cape Horn.

In addition, Mel Fisher Maritime Museum executive director Dr. Madeleine Burnside and director of archaeology Corey Malcom will receive a plaque from the City commemorating the schooner’s visit and in recognition of the Museum’s scholarship of African American History and Marine Archaeology.

On Wednesday, January 8, a flotilla of local vessels will provide an escort for the Amistad to dockside at the Hilton Resort and Marina for a welcoming ceremony at 10 a.m.  The flotilla of local vessels will leave the Hilton dock at 8 a.m.  Several have agreed to take passengers for a $25 fee, which will help defray costs of the Amistad visit.  Anyone interested in participating in the Flotilla may call the Conch Republic Navy at 296-9694.  Those who wish to be on board a flotilla vessel should call Adam at 294-2633 (extension 21) to reserve a spot for the morning sail.  Invited dignitaries for the welcoming ceremony include the Mayor, museum officials, military representing the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, Monroe County School Superintendent and representatives from the Sheriff’s office and the Conch Republic.  A welcome center manned by dedicated local volunteers will provide an orientation video to be viewed by visitors to the ship before the tour.  The video will also be available free for viewing to the public while the schooner is in port.  The January 8 welcoming ceremony at 10 a.m. is free and open to the public

Related events during the schooner’s first week in Key West include a curator’s tour of “The Last Slave Ships” exhibit at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum to be held on Thursday at 6 p.m. and a Key West Film Society outdoor screening of the Steven Spielberg movie AMISTAD at the Hilton Pier on Friday, January 10 at 8 p.m.  Both events are free and open to the public.

Saturday, January 11 offers a free tour of the Key West African cemetery at Higgs Beach conducted by the Museum’s director of archaeology Corey Malcom at 10 a.m.  On Sunday, January 11, an interfaith service at First Congregational United Church of Christ (527 William Street) led by Reverend Ronald Paige will be held at 5 p.m.  The United Church of Christ’s interest in the Amistad incident in 1839 was a driving force in getting the case heard before the Supreme Court and in rallying support to end slavery in the United States.                      

The ship will be available for free school tours in the mornings between 9 a.m. and noon beginning Thursday, January 9.  Amistad (Spanish for “friendship”) is a floating classroom and monument to the millions of souls that were broken or lost as a result of the transatlantic slave trade.  The visit is made possible through the Amistad America, Inc., a national, non-profit educational organization.   A Department of Education grant makes possible the student tours of the ship and the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum is underwriting the cost of transportation for the school groups.