BETTYE FOSTER BAKER
508-696-9983
Mycki Jennings of Oak Bluffs organized a sailing trip for a group of Oak Bluffs friends and neighbors on the historical freedom schooner Amistad, when it returned to Martha’s Vineyard this past weekend after her successful Atlantic freedom tour of 2007-2008.
This tour was a remarkable, epic, 18-month journey, a 14,000 nautical mile voyage which retraced the Atlantic Slave Trade Triangle commemorating the bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade in England (1807) and the United States (1808). The United States was a year behind England because of the contentious debates between north and south around the Missouri Compromise. To be involved on the last leg of this historic mission was special indeed. Amistad America chairman William Minter characterizes the ship as the vessel for change, promoting the values of understanding and unity represented by Amistad itself.
The Atlantic freedom tour of 2007-2008 began its sail in New Haven, Conn., and included port visits in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Liverpool, England. The Liverpool National Museum held a public opening of the International Slavery Museum on August 23, 2007, the UNESCO-designated Slavery Remembrance Day; stops were made in Bristol, England, Lisbon, Portugal, and Freetown in Sierra Leone. From there the ship sailed to Praia in Cape Verde Islands, and Bridgetown in Barbados. First land in the United States was Charlestown, S.C. in 2008; from there they made a return trip to ports where the sail began and then sailed south to Martha’s Vineyard.
How exciting it was to observe the preparations necessary to sail this replica of that original 19th century two-masted schooner, the Amistad, which had been commandeered by Africans who had been captured in 1839.
Deckhand Sarah Renee, a student/crew member from a sailing family, swiftly climbed the 75-foot rope ladder on the foresail mast to the top to release the bunt lines and free the square top sail of the freedom schooner, Amistad.
“Ready about,” Amistad captain John Beebe-Center shouted . . .
“Ready,” the crew responded. “Helms alee . . . pass the head sails.” Voice to voice, a nautical, poetic call-and-response passed commands down the length of the ship in simple cadence as each mate manipulated the ropes and sails in exquisite precision to make the ship ready and later to make those corrections necessary to catch the wind.
During the sail this past weekend, the history behind the Amistad was told poignantly by Captain Bill Pinkney, master emeritus, who sailed solo around the world in 1999, and has been with this project since its inception. Capt. Pinkney explained that on August 26,1839, 49 men and four children were captured and shackled on the Portuguese slave ship Tecora and brought to Havana, Cuba, where they were “fraudulently classified as native, Cuban-born slaves, purchased illegally by Spanish planters Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montez. The slaves were transferred to the Cuban slave schooner Amistad for transport to another part of the Cuba.” The African slaves aboard revolted against their captors and killed them. The Amistad and captives were later captured by the U.S. Navy and imprisoned. There was no one who spoke Mende, the language of the captives and therefore no one to tell their side of the story. Trials were held in Connecticut to determine if they should remain slaves or be freed. The third and last trial was brilliantly argued before the U.S. Supreme Court for six hours by former President John Quincy Adams, who was retained by The Amistad Committee, a group of abolitionists to argue the case which was upheld on appeal. The case became a cause célèbre garnering support for the abolitionists’ movement.
Meeting some of the crew this weekend who made this historic tour was equally revealing. Crew member, Haley Cox, from Canada, one of 50 students from countries around the Atlantic Basin, is participating as Amistad student/crew. These students have created Internet blogs, live webcasts and e-mail correspondence to share their experiences with participating schools, museums and students of all ages around the globe. Haley sailed from England to Sierra Leone with the commemorative sail. She is a descendant of a Black Loyalist, a group of expatriates from Nova Scotia, and is one of six college students selected for this leg of sail. Haley will remain with the Amistad until April, 2009. The Black Loyalists were a group of runaway slaves led by Col. Stephen Blucke, who remained loyal to the British during the American Revolution and were settled “‘up the Northwest Harbour’” in an area they named Birchtown on Sept. 3, 1783.
As a prerequisite to understanding the Amistad story and participating in this historic sail, Haley and other students were exposed to such courses as history, how the sea connects us all to the slave trade, and sea navigation taught by Professor Dwayne Williams of the University of Connecticut. Captain Elizabeth Garfield taught sun navigation (LAN) Local Apparent Noon used by ancient seafarers. As we observed the crew, it seemed there was little time to relax on our Martha’s Vineyard sail as Haley and her fellow crew members were constantly pulling lines to adjust the sails and perform the necessary duties. The exciting part of the local sail was the encouragement for passengers (adults and children alike) to join in and help pull the lines.
Then there was Mukanku Mpoyi (J.R.) whose mother is from the Congo and father from Jamaica. J.R., who seemed to be one of the key crew members handling the ropes, made himself available to all (which included sharing his slicker with a passenger in the pouring rain). The multicultural crew, equally divided between men and women, is a model for international cooperation, understanding and involvement in work which will foster life-long friendships which connect us to the cause of justice and freedom for those still enslaved around the world.
At the end of the tour, Capt. Pinkney asked guests to introduce themselves and that’s when I met another Louisvillian now living in Stanford, Conn. What a wonderful day we shared in spite of the rain which was hardly noticed. Clifton Graves, executive director of Amistad America, arranged the Atlantic freedom tour sail and activities.
Guests of Amistad America Incorporated, included board member Bettye Comer, her husband, Dr. James Comer, Maurice Falk professor of child psychiatry at the Yale Child Study Center, Edgartown seasonal residents Dr. and Mrs. Charles Richardson, of Westchester, N.Y., Rev. and Mrs. Charles Poindexter, Richmond, Va., and other Vineyard guests. Guests of Mycki Jennings, local contact for the Amistad, included husband Tim Jennings; daughter Gigi Jennings and her guest from England, Jane Lees; Deidre and Ronald Fudge and their two daughters, Alexis, Aundre; Janet Baker Walker and Mike Walker and their three children, Julianne, Andrew and Wesley; Joseph Wyatt, Wharton School, Philadelphia, Sheri Rosenberg, Kensington, Md., and Dr. Reginald Mayo, New Haven superintendent of schools.
On Sunday, the Jennings and their daughter Gigi hosted a dinner party in honor of Capt. Pinkney. Guests were Eleanor Turner, principal of a New Haven school; Jane Lees of London; season residents Carl and Kathy Harrison of East Windsor, Conn., and Lisa Mayo Tinney. Dr. Reginald Mayo enjoyed a lively and informative conversation with Capt. Pinkney on sailing, his trip around the world, the Amistad and its historical significance.
Dr. Ursula Parish-Daniels hosted a happy birthday party for her mother, Frances Parish, at Zephrus Restaurant in Vineyard Haven. The afternoon was one of remembrance of things past and present and of the wonders of long life — particularly when one lives as long as Frances, who could still make her way in Hollywood if she chose to. I have known Frances Parish since childhood, and her beauty is legendary. She worked for the Louisville recreation department and her husband, the late Dr. C. H. Parish, professor of sociology and one my teachers, was former president of Municipal College and was the first African American to integrate the University of Louisville faculty. All guests had a Louisville, Ky. connection. Among the guests were Connie Cosby and her daughter, Natalie Cosby, Laura Douglas, Pierre Loving, Oakland, Calif., and Bettye Baker.
Oaks Bluffs resident Gladys Holland entered three dolls in the 147th Annual Agricultural Fair doll competition. One doll won the blue ribbon (first prize) in the clothing category, and a set of Best Friends dolls won the red ribbon (second prize). Congratulations Gladys! Family and niece, Fatima Senghor, could not be more proud! Ms. Holland participates in doll shows in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Pa., Silver Spring, Md., Rockland Community College in New York, and other venues. She will show dolls at the Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Dec. 7 and 8.
On Friday Sept. 12, the Oak Bluffs Senior Center will host Friday Conversations from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The featured speaker, Nancy Francis of Life-Line Screening, will talk about stroke prevention. She will be accompanied by Nicole Barlett, Visiting Nurses Association public health nurse for the five Island towns.
The Polar Bears ended their 2008 summer with the traditional ceremony and group potluck on the boardwalk. We look forward to seeing their return next summer.
Planning a wedding, anniversary, family reunion, special tribute? Have guests coming? Let me know. This column shares memories, coming events and all that’s new and exciting in Oak Bluffs. And by the way, don’t forget to open your gifts.
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