'Amistad' arrives in Chicago

Jet, August 18, 2003

'AMISTAD' ARRIVES IN CHICAGO: The Rev. Jesse Jackson welcomes the Freedom Schooner Amistad to Chicago during a special ceremony held at Chicago's Navy Pier. Joining him are (l-r) James Patterson, chef, Freedom Schooner Amistad; Antoinette D. Wright, president, DuSable Museum of African American History; Chris Cloud, president, Amistad America; John Deeley, captain, Freedom Schooner Amistad; and William "Bill" Pinkney, master of the Freedom Schooner Amistad.

Pinkney is the first Black to solo-circumnavigate the earth by sail via Cape Horn, and the fourth American in history to do so. The DuSable Museum is sponsoring and presenting the Freedom Schooner Amistad in Chicago, which is currently on its inaugural "Great Lakes Tour" to promote better relationships between races and cultures in the U.S. The Freedom Schooner Amistad is a 129-foot, 136-ton replica of the original Amistad ship used to bring West Africans to America to become slaves. The 1839 historic slave uprising on the Amistad ship was the subject of the critically acclaimed movie Amistad, which was produced by filmmaker Stephen Spielberg and Debbie Allen. "The Great Lakes Tour" will include stops in Hammond, IN, Detroit, Sandusky, OH, Ashtabula, OH, Buffalo, NY, Oswego, NY, New York City, Boston and Miami. The home port for Freedom Schooner Amistad is Long Wharf in New Haven, CT.