Amistad Week in Montauk Will Bring True Story of Triumph to Life

On August 26, 2023, members of the Montauk Historical Society, Eastville Community Historical Society and Southampton African American Museum gathered on the beach at Culloden Point in Montauk to mark an important moment in local history that has been frequently overlooked and misunderstood.

At that site, 184 years earlier to that day, the schooner Amistad had come ashore, carrying 53 men and women who had been captured in Sierra Leone and brought to Cuba. During a trip from Havana to a Caribbean plantation where they were to be enslaved, several of the captives took control of the ship and tried to navigate back to Africa but were stymied in that attempt and wound up on the shores of Montauk instead. The ship was captured and towed into the port of New London Harbor in Connecticut, where the captives, members of the Mende tribe in Sierra Leone, were faced with slavery or execution. Their cause was taken up by many residents throughout Connecticut, and the U.S. Circuit and District courts ruled in favor of the Mende. The case was then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in 1841 the court agreed with the lower court decisions and the Mende captives were ordered freed.

The story was popularized around the world by the 1997 Steven Spielberg film, “Amistad,” which was critically acclaimed but did not represent a complete and accurate portrayal of events, notably leaving out the fact that the ship landed in Montauk.

Looking to right that particular wrong, the Montauk Historical Society last year went through the process of applying for a blue and yellow New York State historical marker, underwritten by the William C. Pomeroy Foundation, which would help bring the true story of the Amistad and its connection to the area to broader public consciousness.

Montauk Historical Society Executive Director Mia Certic went on a deep historical research dive as part of that process in an effort to satisfy the strict rules and requirements of the Pomeroy Foundation for receiving a historical marker. During that process, she formed a strong bond with SAAM Executive Director Brenda Simmons and ECHS Executive Director Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, consulting with them to ensure the wording on the marker was accurate and properly phrased. 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.

It was an inspiring day, they all agreed, and it compelled them to do more.

Now, a celebration of the Amistad, its history, and its connection to the area will be an annual event in Montauk. The Southampton African American Museum, Montauk Historical Society and Eastville Community Historical Society have teamed up to present the inaugural Amistad Week, which will run in Montauk from August 22-29

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,” according to the Discovering Amistad website.

The Amistad replica will first drop anchor at Culloden Point on Thursday, August 22, and will then be anchored at the Montauk Town Dock on Star Island for six days of events and activities.

Certic spoke last month about the motivation to bring the weeklong event to the area, and how the dedication of the historical marker a year ago lit the spark of inspiration.

“It was a very emotional day,” she said of last year’s dedication. “We realized how few people were aware of the Amistad having been here, and the story. Some people had seen the movie. We thought, we should do this annually.”

Certic reached out to the people at Discovering Amistad, and they agreed to bring the schooner to Montauk. She also expressed gratitude for the generous support of Andrew and Caroline Witty, who agreed to make a personal donation to cover the cost of bringing Discovering Amistad to the area.

The entire week is being offered free of charge, and has something for everyone, from children to adults.

“We really want to encourage people to come,” Certic said.

Grier-Key and Simmons also spoke about why they were motivated to create Amistad Week in Montauk, why it’s important, and what they hope visitors take away from the experience.

“For many years, Eastville has told the story of the Amistad, and we wanted to make sure we continue that story, more than ever,” Grier-Key said. “There’s been a lot of effort over the years to tell the truth about Amistad, and the fact that it happened here.”

The story of the Amistad is important for several reasons, Grier-Key continued.

“We want to give a real understanding of slavery in the North. It’s a regional and local story but an international story at the same time. It also set precedents in the legal system; it’s one of the first cases that law students review.”

Grier-Key added that the story of Amistad is also a story of triumph, and it provides a strong guide, one that is still relevant today, for how to show up for others, be an ally, and fight for what is right.

“It’s a commemoration and celebration of these people, who were very resilient,” she said. “They had the resilience to fight. And the community; that aided them, missionaries, legal minds. Today, so many people are only interested in checking a box of DEI, but I think we can learn a lot from this whole story. We can decide for ourselves and really make a change and stand up for something greater than ourselves. We’re standing up for humanity when we stand up for others.”

Grier-Key, Simmons and Certic are all clearly dedicated to honoring that idea, and carrying on the legacy of making positive change. Certic, who grew up in Montauk, said being involved in the research of the Amistad story has been profound for her on a personal level.

“I grew up spending summers a stone’s throw from [Culloden Point beach],” she said. “We thought of it as ‘our beach,’ and I have memories of going there with my boyfriend. To find out that something of his magnitude happened there, it’s been so profound and it was a huge mindset shift for me.”

The dedication of the historical marker carried strong emotional resonance as well.

“It was so powerful and moving, and I think everyone had a little shift in their consciousness that day,” she said. “It was a really wonderful, heartfelt, joyous celebration, and it was something else where we thought, we need to change a few more minds and we need a few more people to share this with us.

“The story of Amistad is a story of triumph in many ways,” Certic added. “It’s a wonderful story at a time when so many millions of people were subjected to slavery who couldn’t become known as individuals.”

For Simmons, it’s vital that she and other Black women, and Black men, are able to tell their own stories, so mistakes and historical inaccuracies that have prevailed for years can be corrected, and so the people of the Amistad can be recognized for who they truly were.

“It’s time for us to tell our story,” she said. “We have an ancestral DNA that beholds the suffering and the pain, but profoundly possess the DNA of royalty, and the intellect of kings and queens.”

Her hope for what visitors to Amistad Week take away from the experience is simple.

“That they hear the truth,” she said.

All three women want to see greater emphasis placed on teaching the history of Amistad in schools, particularly in local schools where the local connection can be emphasized.

Grier-Key picked up on that point and carried it forward.

“It’s about what we do with this new knowledge,” she said. “How do we put into practice being a more humane society and understanding the ramifications of what the story means, and where do we see it in our lives, and how do we improve the lives of others?”