Amistad Week Set To Kick Off on August 22 in Montauk

For 20 years, the Montauk Historical Society has been trying to bring a replica of the Amistad schooner to Montauk.

Next week, it is finally happening, thanks to the determination and dedication of three women.

Montauk Historical Society Executive Director Mia Certic, Southampton African American Museum Executive Director Brenda Simmons, and Eastville Community Historical Society Executive Director Dr. Georgette Grier-Key collaborated over the last year to create “Amistad Week,” which will run from August 22 through August 28 in Montauk.

Amistad became a household name in the 1990s, when Steven Spielberg made an Oscar-nominated film about the schooner and the enslaved Africans who staged an uprising in 1839 and ultimately won their freedom.

Certic, Simmons and Grier-Key spoke at the East Hampton Town Board meeting on Tuesday about Amistad Week and what it will entail, and they began by sharing the story of Amistad for those who were not familiar, or perhaps had heard of it, or seen the movie, but didn’t know or remember all the historically accurate details.

Nearly 200 years ago, 49 illegally enslaved African men rose up against their captors and took control of the ship that was supposed to transport them to a sugar plantation in the north of Cuba. They spared the lives of the two Spanish enslavers, who promised to steer the schooner back to Africa. But the Spaniards deceived the Africans, sailing east by day and north by night, until they reached Culloden Point in Montauk.

There, they were intercepted by a naval survey ship, which took control of the Amistad and towed it to Connecticut, still a slave state at that time. (Slavery in New York had been outlawed in 1827.) A protracted legal battle finally culminated in a Supreme Court decision that freed the Amistad Africans, who were later able to return to what is now Sierra Leone.

The 1997 Spielberg film tells the story in Hollywood fashion, and while it gets some details right, there are certain omissions and inaccuracies. Montauk is never named in the film, and many people do not know of the schooner’s connection to the area, and the local ties to such an important moment in U.S. history.

Certic, Grier-Key and Simmons have been determined to change that.

Last summer, they hosted a special event at Culloden Point to celebrate the placement of a blue and yellow New York State Historic Marker sign, underwritten by the William C. Pomeroy Foundation, at Culloden Point, helping to bring the true story of the Amistad and its connection to the area to broader public consciousness. They chose the date of the Amistad landing for the dedication of the sign, and planned a celebration around it with plenty of fanfare, including African musicians and dancers, to honor the history of the Mende people. Both Simmons and Grier-Key danced on the beach at the ceremony, and have described it as an unforgettable moment, with Simmons saying she felt a strong connection to her ancestors during that dance.

The event was so transformative, the women said, that it sparked their determination to do more, and the concept of creating Amistad Week was born.

The main feature of the event will be the presence of Discovering Amistad, a Connecticut-based educational organization that owns and operates an Amistad replica schooner, taking it on tours around the East Coast, with the mission of connecting people of all ages with the Amistad story, with the goal of motivating them to “act and work to change systems that perpetuate racism, to ensure human rights for all.”

On its way into Montauk on August 22, the replica schooner will stop at Culloden Point, where it will lie at anchor while a celebration — including interpretive dance, African kora music and drumming, a libation, and a ring shout — will take place on shore.

After its brief stay at Culloden Point, the Amistad will sail into Montauk Harbor, where it will be moored at the East Hampton Town Dock on Star Island for a week. It will be open daily for free tours and activities presented by Discovering Amistad, the nonprofit group that runs its educational programs. Highlights of the week include a family day, with activities for children and young people, a professional development day, a VIP tour, and a panel discussion featuring New York State Historian Devin Lander, who will also give a presentation about preparations for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

More information on Amistad Week is available at montaukhistoricalsociety.org/events.