Date: Fri 26-Dec-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Amistad-slaves-Old-State-House

Full Text:

Spielberg's Latest Feature, `Amistad' Expected To Bring Attention To More Than

CT's Cinemas

(with photos)

HARTFORD -- For the second time in five years, the state of Connecticut has

Steven Spielberg to thank for what is expected to be a red-letter year for its

tourism industry.

Sparked by the stunning popularity of the Spielberg film Jurassic Park in

1993, Connecticut's Dinosaur State Park, the Peabody Museum of Natural History

and related sites experienced a surge in visitation. Now, with the recent

release of Amistad , a $40 million feature film directed by Spielberg for

DreamWorks SKG, Connecticut is anticipating -- and is prepared for --

potentially hundreds of thousands of visitors beyond the turn of the century.

The Connecticut Tourism Hotline (800/CT-BOUND) is geared up to handle

accommodations and reservations across the state for visitors drawn by the

Amistad saga.

The state's 15-month old Freedom Trail is an African-American heritage trail

which includes numerous Amistad sites, notably in New Haven, Hartford,

Farmington and New London. Sites related to the feature film include Mystic

Seaport, itself a Freedom Trail site and an important shoot location (much to

local disappointment, the seaport served as a stand-in for 19th Century New

Haven), as well as the site of the upcoming reconstruction of the schooner

Amistad .

Climactic scenes set in the United States Supreme Court were shot in

Waterford, at Sonalyst Studios.

Amistad The Film

The Amistad incident laid the groundwork for the abolition of slavery and the

modern Civil Rights Movement. The occurrence, however, has been curiously

absent from history books.

With the release of the feature film, attention will be cast upon Connecticut,

its many relevant historic sites and upcoming events, as the place where the

story unfolded.

The film Amistad , with a touch of poetic license, tells the story of 52

Africans who were kidnapped from their homeland in western Africa in 1839 and

illegally sold into slavery in Havana. The slaves subsequently revolted and

seized control of the vessel Amistad , hoping to sail home. Instead, the ship

was sabotaged by slavers and drifted north, into the Connecticut coast.

Arrested and charged with murder and piracy, the Africans pleaded the case

they were free men, not property, before the US Circuit Court and the US

District Court at Hartford's State House. The court ruled the Africans were

free, which prompted an immediate demand from President Martin Van Buren --

concerned he would lose the support of pro-slavery forces in the upcoming

election -- that the ruling be appealed in US Supreme Court.

Former President John Quincy Adams came out of retirement to argue on the

Africans' behalf. The former President won the Africans their freedom.

As a postscript to what is included in the film, the Africans lived in

Farmington while funds were being raised to pay for their trip home.

The film is expected to generate so much interest in the Amistad incident

organizations and institutions throughout Connecticut have pooled resources to

create a multitude of events, exhibits and forums to help satiate a growing

Amistad appetite. Connecticut's Office of Tourism is hoping the public will

supplement its interest with the wave of books, videos, audio tapes, web sites

and CD-ROMs related to Amistad .

A number of projects are being partially funded by the Cultural Heritage

Development Fund administered by the Connecticut Humanities Council. Among

these projects are various exhibitions, Freedom Trail Auto Tour Tapes, and a

library discussion forum series.

There will also be broadcasts of a documentary video and Connecticut Public

Television documentary by Karyl Evans, a former Newtown resident and a

television producer. In late 1995, Ms Evans completed work on "The Amistad

Revolt: `All We Want Is Make Us Free," a one-hour CPTV special.

Related Events,

Activities & Resources

January 17: "The Amistad and Beyond: A Saturday Matinee," screening of feature

film followed by conversation and refreshments, Gateway Community-Technical

College, New Haven (telephone 789-7069);

Through January 19, 1998: "Amistad: First Decade and Beyond," art and

artifacts from the Amistad Foundation's African-American collection, will be

on view at the Wadsworth Atheneum, 600 Main Street, Hartford (860/278-2670);

February 1-28: "Speaking For Ourselves: African-Americans in Farmington," an

exhibit at the Farmington Library, will be complemented by bus and walking

tours of a town that played a crucial role in the Amistad drama;

Opening February 12: "Voyage To Freedom," an exhibition at Mystic Seaport

(860/572-0711 or 888/973-2767 [888/9SEAPORT]); also "Exploring Amistad," a

comprehensive Amistad-related web site, will open, at ;

Opening February 18, "Amistad: A True Story of Freedom," a major interactive,

multi-media exhibition at the Connecticut Historical Society, 1 Elizabeth

Street, Hartford (860/236-5621);

Through February 28: "The Amistad Affair," an exhibition, at Sterling Memorial

Library, Yale University, 120 High Street, New Haven (432-2300);

March 8: keel laying begins for a full-scale reproduction of the freedom

schooner Amistad , at Mystic Seaport; also the publication of The Amistad

Rebellion , a collaborative, interactive CD-ROM from Mystic Seaport and

Cinegram Media;

Through March: "Setting the Record Straight," reenactments of the Amistad

trial at the Old State House, 800 Main Street, Hartford (860/522-6766);

September: Freedom Trail Month, related activities will be held statewide;

September 19-20: Freedom Trail Bike Run, from all Freedom Trail sites across

the state, culminating in Hartford;

Through December: "Cinque Lives Here," an exhibition at the New Haven Colony

Historical Society, 114 Whitney Avenue, New Haven (562-4183);

Spring 1999: Shutter Party, including the installation of the last plank on

the reproduction freedom schooner Amistad ;

December 1999: launching of the reproduction freedom schooner Amistad ;

May 2000: commissioning of the reproduction freedom schooner Amistad , to be

officially put into active service, at Mystic Seaport;

June 2000: The maiden voyage of the reproduction freedom schooner Amistad ,

from Mystic Seaport.

Long-Term At The Wadsworth

Through January 18, The Wadsworth Atheneum continues its exhibit, "Amistad:

First Decade and Beyond," with selections from the Amistad Foundation's

African-American collection. After January 18, a new installation of similar

materials and artifacts will be displayed.

Farmington will commemorate its crucial role in the Amistad drama with tours

of Freedom Trail sites, and an exhibition on the long history of

African-Americans in the town, in "Speaking For Ourselves, African-Americans

in Farmington."

Bus and walking tours, by appointment, will feature the carriage house where

Cinque and other Amistad survivors lived from March to November 1841, from the

time of their Supreme Court victory until their return to what would become

Sierra Leone. Tours also include visits to sites where the survivors studied,

worked and prayed. For more information, contact Barbara Donahue

(860/677-0864).

The Yale Exhibitions

& `Cinque Lives Here'

At The Sterling Memorial Library, on the campus of Yale University, "The

Amistad Affair" continues through February 28. The exhibition includes

letters, documents and drawings of key figures.

Also at Yale, visitors to The Visitors Center can view Karyl Evans'

documentary "The Amistad Revolt: `All We Want Is Make Us Free.'"

The New Haven Colony Historical Society will continue its current exhibition,

"Cinque Lives Here," through the end of 1998. The exhibition contains the only

painting of Cinque made from life, in 1839, as well as many important

artifacts relating to the incident from the society's collections.

Major Exhibit At

CT Historical Society

The Connecticut Historical Society will open one of the most important and

fascinating Amistad -related exhibitions, "Amistad: A True Story of Freedom,"

on February 18. Scheduled to run for at least three years, the

audience-friendly learning experience comprises 2,000-square feet of

interactive devices, ambient sound, a multi-media gallery and period artifacts

to chronicle the saga.

Mystic Seaport,

A Major Venue

In February, two significant premieres will take place at Mystic Seaport: the

opening of "Voyage To Freedom," an exhibition that includes primary historical

documents connected to the Amistad incident and artifacts from the Steven

Spielberg film; and the debut of what its creators are calling the "most

comprehensive Amistad -related site on the Internet. "Exploring Amistad: Race

and the Boundaries of Slavery in Antebellum Maritime America" will be found at

.

"Voyage To Freedom" will offer visitors to the nation's leading maritime

museum the opportunity to view artifacts, legal documents and items utilized

in the film of Amistad at Mystic Seaport.

The web site will offer browsers a deeper understanding of the issues

portrayed in the film by bringing together, for the first time, an

unprecedented compendium of primary historical documents.

Visitors to the site will witness the vigor with which the Amistad Africans

gripped the public imagination and how their story became an overnight

sensation, simultaneously a legal battle, an election year political crisis,

an international diplomacy wrangle, and a missionary cause.

Supporting narrative, interpretive content and companion curricular packages

for high school and college students will offer a compelling and challenging

resource for learning history.

Reconstruction

Of The Amistad

The web site will also chronicle another Mystic Seaport project: the building

of a reproduction of the freedom schooner the Africans traveled on. An

international leader in historic ship preservation and one of Connecticut's

premier cultural institutions, Mystic Seaport, with its master craftsmen, is a

natural venue for the building of Amistad .

The keel, or spine, of the ship will be laid down March 8, 1998, in a ceremony

akin to a groundbreaking. Throughout the construction process, from the

framing (installing the ribs of the vessel), in 1998, to shuttering

(installing the last plank) in spring 1999, from launch in December 1999 to

stepping, or installing, the masts in February 2000, to the commission of the

vessel in May 2000, every inch of the duplication will be followed and

reported on the Web.

During the reconstruction, the Connecticut Office of Tourism expects more than

425,000 visitors will visit the seaport to view the process. For those who

cannot view it personally or want to check on its progression, the web site

will maintain the story of the reconstruction.

Once completed, the $2.8 million, 77-foot, hand-hewn vessel will ply the

nation's waterways as an educational ambassador, teaching lessons of history,

cooperation and leadership to all Americans.

Reenactment

Of The Trial

The nation's oldest state house and the site of the original Amistad trials is

located in Connecticut's state capital.

In the Senate Chamber of Connecticut's Old State House, at 800 Main Street,

Hartford, staff members will utilize original trial manuscripts as the basis

of an eerily authentic reenactment of the capture and initial trial of the

Amistad Africans.

The impact of the depictions is heightened by the sobering realization, at the

drama's conclusion, spectators are standing where the real captives once

stood.

The free half-hour presentations are presented on Tuesday at noon, Thursday at

1 pm, through March.

Related Freedom Trail Sites

The Connecticut Freedom Trail (CFT) is a "living" trail of African-American

heritage sites which is expanded annually as research reveals potential

additions. Thirteen new sites, two of which are Amistad -related, have just

been added to the 69-site trail.

New sites include the US Custom House, Bank Street, New London, where the

Africans from the Amistad were brought on August 23, 1839, by the U.S. Coast

Guard; and the United Church on the Green, Temple Street, New Haven, whose

past congregants included Roger Sherman Baldwin, the attorney active in the

defense of the Amistad Africans.

Of the trail's sites, some of the Amistad -related sites include the

Farmington Historical Society. Also in Farmington: First Church of Christ,

Congregational, where the freed Africans worshipped while awaiting transport

back home; and Union Hall, where abolitionists met in support of the captives.

Also, Samuel Deming Store, the second floor of which was used to house and

educate the Africans; Austin F. Williams House & Carriage House, the primary

home for the Amistad Americans; and Foone's Grave, Riverside Cemetery, where

one of the Amistad Africans is buried, having drowned in the nearby canal.

In Hartford, the Old State House, site of the circuit and district court

trials, is on the trail.

In New Haven: Amistad Memorial; Battel Chapel at Yale Divinity School, with a

display of correspondence revealing the role of the Divinity School's faculty

and students in helping the Africans; New Haven Colony Historical Society,

where Amistad -related items are permanently exhibited; and Grove Street

Cemetery, the final resting place of Roger Sherman Baldwin.

The month of September is Freedom Trail Month in Connecticut. Activities will

be announced early in 1998. Free brochures on the Connecticut Freedom Trail

are available from the Connecticut Historical Commission, 39 S. Prospect

Street, Hartford 06106; telephone 860/566-3005.

A set of auto tour tapes of the CFT, arranged in four segments, with a

companion guide, is available from The Amistad Committee, PO Box 2936, New

Haven 06515; telephone 387-0370. Cost is $19.95, plus $4.50 shipping and 6%

state sales tax.

Also available from The Amistad Committee is the Emmy-nominated video, The

Amistad Revolt: "All We Want Is Make Us Free." The documentary used actors,

visuals and an original score to bring the historically accurate Amistad story

to life. Cost is $39.95, plus $4 shipping and handling and 6% state sales tax.

The documentary was produced by Karyl Evans, who also produced the auto tour

tapes and is currently producing and directing a one-hour documentary for

CPTV, "The History of African-Americans in Connecticut," which will air in the

fall.

Available Resources,

Additional Programming

Among the new books being released is Amistad: A Long Road To Freedom , by

Walter Dean Myers (Dutton), which is scheduled for February release.

Long an important resource on the incident is University of Alabama Professor

Howard Jones' Mutiny on The Amistad , written in 1987 but scheduled for

re-release this year by Oxford University Press. Professor Jones' academic

work is said to have been the inspiration for David Pesci's recent novel,

Amistad (Marlowe).

A series of one-day courses, billed as interactive conversations, is being

scheduled at Gateway Community-Technical College, New Haven, during January

and February. For information, call the school at 789-7069.

Also at the college, programs on January 27, February 10, 16 and 28 cover

topics as diverse as Amistad 's economic impact on tourism; teachers' training

on using related materials in schools; a high school and college student

seminar on the legal and moral implications of the Amistad mutiny; and music

as an expression of Africans under slavery.

Two-part programs, "The Amistad Incident: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law and

Connecticut History," featuring the Evans documentary and a discussion of

Professor Jones' book, will be held at the Prosser Public Library, Bloomfield,

February 7 and 20, at 7 pm; and at Bethel Public Library, 189 Greenwood

Avenue, February 24 and March 10.

Ms Evans will host the first session at both locations. Walton Brown will host

the Bloomfield book discussion, while David Pesci will host on March 10 in

Bethel. For more information, call the Southern Connecticut Library Council,

248-6370.

Group Tours Planned

Besides the auto tour tapes for individuals, three local tourism offices --

New Haven Convention and Visitors Bureau, Great Hartford Tourism District, and

Connecticut's Mystic & More -- have coordinate group tour itineraries based on

the Amistad case. Highlights are to include major exhibitions and related

reenactments.

Tour itineraries will be customized regarding dining, accommodations and other

attractions needs. Motorcoach operators, tour operators, clubs, associations,

church groups and schools are invited to contact program coordinator Suzette

Benitez, Greater New Haven VB, 782-7755, for details.