Events will include the 4^th Annual Middletown Middle Passage Ceremony and
dockside tours of the Amistad tall ship.

The famous tall ship Amistad, the flagship of Connecticut, is coming to Middletown on Saturday, October 8, 2022. Events at Harbor Park will begin at 12:00 p.m. and continue until 6:00 p.m. These include the Fourth Annual Middletown Middle Passage and Port Marker Ceremony, educational events, music, entertainment, and on-board tours of the ship. All are invited to come learn the history of the Amistad and its ongoing relevance today. Join us for an immersive experience of history, arts and culture!

Highlights include:
Libations, African Drumming and Dancing Performed by Nina Arts
FREE onboard tours of the Amistad
Special Performance by Tammy Denease, Executive Artistic Director, Hidden Women Stage Company and Outreach Director for the CT Freedom Trail
Live music from The Lost Tribe — Afro-funk fusion led by multi-percussionist Jocelyn Pleasant
West African dance performance from Iddi Saaka, Wesleyan University Assistant Professor of Dance
Traditional arts demonstrations by Master Artists Renee Soares and Pierre Sylvain
Community info booths, craft vendors and activities!

Discovering Amistad, the group responsible for bringing the ship to Middletown, pays honor to and acknowledges the resiliency and determination of the 53 people from Sierra Leone who were kidnapped and illegally sold into slavery aboard the Amistad. They fought for their lives and their release from bondage, overtaking the ship and steering it toward freedom. Their 1839 trial at Connecticut’s Old State House found those involved in the Amistad Uprising not guilty, an early victory for Black and white abolitionists that led to the eventual return of the captives to their native land.
 
“The uprising aboard the Amistad in 1839 and subsequent court proceedings mark an important event in Connecticut and United States history. The Amistad highlights some of the worst atrocities perpetrated by human beings, while also serving as testament to the enduring desire of all people to be free. This continuing struggle for freedom from oppression and bondage in myriad forms is just as relevant today. We are honored and excited to welcome the Amistad back to Middletown, and to be working again with our friends at Discovering Amistad for this year’s program.” — Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim 
 
“Middletown looks forward to hosting the tall ship on the Connecticut River, and each year that it docks at Harbor Park, I look forward to the strengthening collaborations with stakeholders to ensure that its visit here is continually successful for our city and its citizens.” — Kisha M. Michael, Arts & Culture Coordinator for the City of Middletown. 
 
“Discovering Amistad is thrilled to bring our Freedom Schooner “The Amistad” back to Harbor Park for the annual “Voyage for Freedom”. The symbolism of the Amistad ship reflects the resilience of our incredible ancestors and the strength that develops when people of all backgrounds unite to fight for racial justice. We are grateful to Middletown for the strong collaborative spirit on this important ‘journey’.” — Paula Mann-Agnew, Executive Director of Discovering Amistad
 
"Middletown Public Schools is excited to partner with Discovering Amistad and the City of Middletown to provide our students with an opportunity to learn about the “Voyage for Freedom.” When I was a 7th grader attending Woodrow Wilson Middle School, I was a part of Project Oceanography and had the opportunity to visit the Amistad. It was life changing for me. After my visit on the ship I read the book and watched the movie. I want our students to have the same experience.”
— Dr. Jada Waters, Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Middletown Public Schools

“The annual Middletown Middle Passage and Port Marker Ceremony, first organized by the Middlesex County Historical Society in 2019, is unique and vital. Middletown is one of only 29 communities throughout the U.S. that have dedicated a Port Marker to commemorate and acknowledge the site where enslaved Africans first placed their feet after surviving the Middle Passage, the forced movement of up to 12 million Africans to the Americas between the 1500s and the 1800s. Several hundred of these enslaved people lived in Middletown in the 1700s, then the largest city in Connecticut and a bustling river port. The October 8 events pay tribute to them and connect their stories of survival and resistance to the remarkable story of the Amistad uprising. We are here to reflect on and connect the local and the global, the past and the present.”  –  Jesse Nasta, Executive Director of the Middlesex County Historical Society and Assistant Professor of the Practice in African American Studies, Wesleyan University

For more information about Discovering Amistad visit www.discoveringamistad.org or contact Paula Mann-Agnew, Executive Director at [email protected]. For more information and upcoming schedule for the October 8th event, please visit https://www.middletownct.gov/1331/Amistad-2022 or contact the City of Middletown Arts & Culture Office at [email protected] or call (860) 638-4511.