Guest Author - Alice Rienzo

Grade level: 7

A long time ago, people did not think that we were all created to be equal. They thought that the people with dark skin were not as good as those who had light skin. In fact, the white people thought they were better in all things and they thought they could control the world.

In another part of the world, called West Africa, some of the dark-skinned people wanted to leave their country. They agreed to work off their fare, in exchange for passage to a “better life.” What started out as a way to barter, turned into one of the most shameful times in history.

The white men saw that the dark-skinned men were strong workers. They began to make promises to the dark-skinned people that they would not keep. The white men sold the West Africans to other white men as slaves. When the West Africans would not go willingly, the white men would kidnap them. After a while, they just took the West Africans against their will and away from their land.

Some sailed aboard a ship called La Amistad. In 1839, a group of 53 West Africans, led by a 25-year-old Mende rice farmer named Sengbe Pieh, fought back against the white men. They killed the captain and the cook and ordered the other sailors to take them back to their home. A Navy ship called the USS Washington took over the ship and towed it to New Haven, Connecticut.

They were put on trial as criminals for the murders of the cook and the captain. After three years, and a plea from President John Quincy Adams, the United States Supreme Court finally let the remaining 35 West Africans return to their homeland.

The event on the Amistad is an important story for us to remember. This year, a copy of the original ship is sailing around the world to remind everyone about West African history and slavery. In addition, the Amistad is celebrating the law that banned bringing people into the Untied States to be slaves.

For more information, visit Amistad America