The 128-foot replica schooner the Amistad stopped in Martha’s Vineyard waters this past weekend, as the Island celebrated Juneteenth. 

The Amistad, operated by the nonprofit Discovering Amistad, is a replica of a ship where a slave uprising took place in 1839.

The current Amistad replicates the “vision” of freedom the original ship embodied, according to Discovering Amistad executive director Paula Mann-Agnew. 

The enslaved people on the original Amistad engaged in a legal battle once they were ashore in New Haven, Conn. The U.S. Supreme Court determined that their actions were justified, ordering their freedom. 

“It really is about freedom, kind of a voyage to freedom,” Mann-Agnew said, adding that the Amistad is used by the nonprofit to hold discussions about freedom, and working with students to “make a connection between the past and the present” through the ship’s story. “This ship is so special because it’s a freedom schooner. It represents freedom,” Mann-Agnew said. 

The executive director called the ship more a “recreation” than a replica. “Replica means exact, but there have been some modifications,” Mann-Agnew said. “We do have a motor and some upgrades.” 

Tours were being held for school groups on Friday at Tisbury Wharf. And then Monday, the Amistad docked in Edgartown Harbor.

The Times went on a tour aboard the schooner Monday, and spoke with members of the all-female crew. 

Discovering Amistad board member Kai Perry has been a part of the ship’s crew for 20 years. “We were sailing all around the country, telling the story of the Amistad incident of 1839, hoping to remind students, community members, young and old, our tragic history of slavery and our ongoing fight for freedom,” she said. “I did that while sailing, living, and teaching aboard the ship.” 

Perry said it was incredible to be on Martha’s Vineyard, and she also made a point that Juneteenth has been celebrated for a while now, but with its formal recognition as a federal holiday, the attention, excitement, and energy it receives has increased. “I think this was the opportune location to celebrate Juneteenth,” Perry said. 

Many younger crewmembers spoke about the importance of the history behind the ship and carrying its legacy forward. 

Athena Vieira, who works as a shipwright and deckhand, was excited to share her message with people as the ship docked on the Island. “With the ship in particular, I would really love people to learn more about the history and lives of the enslaved Africans on this vessel,” Vieira said. Vieira joined the crew in May 2022.

Colleen Mason, a more experienced sailor, shared her passion for being part of the project. “Amistad is actually unique,” she said. “They are working really hard to bring this vessel back from where she was, bringing her to different places, telling a story. And unlike most sailing boats that I have worked with, she has a historical basis.”

Martha’s Vineyard is the only place that the Amistad will visit in Massachusetts on its Voyage to Freedom tour this year, although it has several stops remaining in Connecticut, where it is the official flagship of the state.

“Every area that we go to has a different culture, energy, and connection to the ship,” Mann-Agnew said. 

Mann-Agnew said the team was “thrilled” to be on Martha’s Vineyard, particularly because of the Island’s wealth of African American history, including being in “The Negro Motorist Green Book Compendium,” or “Green Book,” which published areas that were safer for Black individuals and families to travel to during segregation. The Island’s Black history, Juneteenth, and the Amistad, Mann-Agnew said, brought a “synergy” to the weekend.

“There was also so much African American history here on the Vineyard, with the Inkwell and all, Juneteenth in terms of freedom and the ship, the freedom schooner,” Mann-Agnew said. “This is such a perfect connection for us, and we’re so excited. We’re hoping the message of it, that people are reminded … of the fact that we’re still voyaging for freedom, for human rights for everyone.”

Source: https://www.mvtimes.com/2023/06/16/amistad-sails-marthas-vineyard/