Echoes of history will ring out in words and song over the water and beaches of Montauk next week. The Montauk Historical Society, Eastville Community Historical Society, and the Southampton African American Museum have come together to organize Amistad Week, a series of educational and commemorative events beginning next Thursday, centered around the 128-foot schooner Amistad, a replica of a vessel that held an infamous place in world history.
In the summer of 1839, 49 illegally enslaved Mende men from what is now Sierra Leone overthrew their captors and gained control of the Portuguese cargo schooner Amistad, which had been bound for a sugar plantation in northern Cuba. The lives of two Spanish enslavers were spared after they promised that they would navigate the ship east toward Africa. Instead, they turned the Amistad northward toward the continental United States, where in late August it was observed by a hunting party of South Fork men, including a member of the Conklin family, some 15 rods — about 82 yards — off Culloden Point at Montauk. The ship was seized by a United States naval survey brig, and the African freedom fighters were taken to New London, Conn.
Although New York had outlawed slavery in 1827, Connecticut was still a so-called slave state at the time, and a protracted legal battle over the fate of the Mende men played out there. A leader who had emerged from among them, called Sengbe or Joseph Cinque, articulated their cause, and the case was argued all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where they were represented by former President John Quincy Adams. In 1841, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Africans and they were later able to return to Sierra Leone.
The replica of the Amistad schooner was constructed at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut and launched in 2020. It will be the stage for various activities and free open-boat hours, from next Thursday to Aug. 28. “Montauk’s role in the Amistad story is not very well known, so we are thrilled to have this chance to share our local connection with such an important part of history,” said Mia Certic, the executive director of the Montauk Historical Society, in a press release.
The commemoration begins with a beachside-welcome event next Thursday at Culloden Point, where the Amistad was seized. From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. there will be African kora music, drumming, and a ring shout, a ritual dance first performed by enslaved Africans in the U.S. and the Caribbean. “It’s very powerful to stand at Culloden Point, where this momentous piece of our collective history actually happened,” said Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, executive director of the Eastville Community Historical Society, in a press release. “I felt it was essential for us to begin our commemorations right there on that beach.” The welcome event is free to the public but registration is required at montaukhistoricalsociety.org.
From Culloden Point, the Amistad will sail to Montauk Harbor, where it will tie up at the East Hampton Town Dock on Star Island for a week’s residence. The free daily tours and special activities that will be available are presented by Discovering Amistad, the nonprofit group that runs the educational program aboard the Amistad. Some of the activities will require an R.S.V.P. or the purchase of tickets. Next Friday, Aug. 24, there will be a reception with a re-enactment. Space for this event is limited and tickets are $75 to $350. The next day, Aug. 25, will be family day, with another, free, re-enactment during the afternoon. Devin Lander, the 16th official New York State Historian, will lead a panel discussion on the Amistad and its connection to the East End at the Montauk Lighthouse Oceans Institute on Aug. 27. Joining Mr. Lander will be Dr. Grier-Key, Ms. Certic, and Brenda Simmons, the founder and executive director of the Southampton African American Museum.
Each of the week’s events was planned not just to commemorate what happened in 1839 but to celebrate the courage of the men of the Amistad and others who resisted. “This is our tribute to the brave and resourceful heroes of the Amistad rebellion,” Ms. Simmons said in a press release, “as well as to the millions who endured the Middle Passage and generations of enslavement, and whose names and stories have been lost to us.”
Tickets and more information are available on the Montauk Historical Society website.
