Media Center: Article
Mystic Seaport Museum to mark Black History Month with new series
Westerly – The Sun | February 3, 2022
MYSTIC — In honor of Black History Month, Mystic Seaport Museum will introduce several programs throughout February designed to celebrate "important and often under-recognized figures that have changed the course of history," according to a statement released by the museum.
The programs are part of an ongoing initiative at the museum created "to incorporate a more diverse range of voices in its programming and exhibits about American maritime history," the statement says.
Throughout February, visitors to the museum can hear a talk about Lewis Temple while aboard the whale ship Charles W. Morgan. Temple was an African American blacksmith, abolitionist and inventor who was born in Virginia around 1800 and found his way to the whaling port of New Bedford. He is best known for the development of the Temple toggle iron, an iron harpoon design that featured a pivoting head that would not slip out of the whale. The invention, similar to harpoons used by Native Americans and Inuit to catch fish and seals, revolutionized the whaling industry.
Visitors are also invited to explore an outdoor exhibit, "The Sea Connects Us," a series of panels highlighting the achievements of African American and Indigenous people who made significant contributions to U.S. maritime history.
In addition, the museum and Discovering Amistad are embarking on a new collaboration with the shared mission of furthering racial justice. The ongoing initiative will promote learning and exposure to contributions made by African Americans in U.S. maritime history.
The two organizations are partnering to offer a new joint program for schools that tells the story of the ship Amistad and how it serves as an example of how citizens and communities, working together, can bring about meaningful change. Students will be able to board the Amistad at the museum and learn about the vessel, the story of the 1839 Amistad uprising, and the landmark Supreme Court case that freed the Mende captives who were facing slavery or execution.
The program also includes a segment in the museum’s planetarium that highlights the role celestial navigation played in the story. Using the legacy of the uprising, the program bridges history and the challenges of that time to present-day issues of inequity. This program is a permanent offering by the two organizations.
The museum is also supporting a program called "Discovering Amistad," a program designed to engage middle school students in Connecticut to research and become involved in Black maritime history. Ten schools will be invited to participate in the program, in which students will create an art project on figures from Black maritime history. The top submission from each school will receive a prize, including the opportunity to participate in a Discovering Amistad art exhibit and free admission to Mystic Seaport Museum with a special behind-the-scenes tour. Awards will be made by April 1.
On Feb. 23, the museum will present "Webinar Wednesday: African Americans in Astronomy," as part of its AARP Webinar Wednesdays series.
Brian Koehler, the supervisor of the Museum’s Treworgy Planetarium, will discuss the groundbreaking achievements by African Americans in the fields of astronomy and space exploration. Despite hundreds of years of discrimination and prejudicial treatment, these pioneers "achieved remarkable accomplishments that changed and shaped the present understanding of the cosmos," according to the statement. A virtual program, it is planned to take place from 7 to 8 p.m. and is free for AARP and Mystic Seaport Museum members (non-members may attend for a $15 admission fee). People interested in the program can visit www.mysticseaport.org/calendar/ to register.
— Nancy Burns-Fusaro
