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Local Students Will Sail on the Amistad

Posted on: Monday, 17 April 2006, 15:00 CDT

By Claudia Van Nes, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Apr. 15--OLD SAYBROOK -- The town has been chosen for a pilot program by Amistad America Inc. that will take three local students and three from New London on a weeklong educational trip aboard the 129-foot Amistad schooner.

"This is huge. We're thrilled," said high school Principal Scott Schoonmaker, who believes the trip could be "a life-changing experience for these six students."

The ship is a reproduction of the original Amistad on which 53 captive Africans revolted in 1839 and were subsequently held in a New Haven jail, charged with murder and mutiny. John Quincy Adams argued successfully on the captors' behalf in U.S. Supreme Court, allowing the 35 survivors to return to Africa in 1841.

The Amistad organization is tentatively calling the trip the Sankofa Sail Program. Sankofa is an African term for a mythical bird whose head is turned backward to symbolize the importance of learning from the past to build the future, said Amistad public relations coordinator Kai Perry.

Old Saybrook was picked for Sankofa Sail because resident Donna DiBella approached the Amistad organization to come to town this June in conjunction with the local historical society's upcoming exhibit on slavery in Old Saybrook.

She was intrigued, she said, to learn of the new program to take high school sophomores on an extended sail. A host committee was formed under the auspices of the Old Saybrook Education Foundation, which can accept tax-deductible donations.

Although it costs about $40,000 to have Amistad visit a port, Old Saybrook's charge will be half that because it's acting as the pilot program for the student venture. Students have always been an integral part of the Amistad mission, which is to improve race relations and bridge cultural differences. Some local student volunteers even helped with the ship's construction at Mystic Seaport seven years ago. But students have never gone on overnight ventures or extended sails on the ship.

Greg Belanger, chief operating officer of the nonprofit Amistad organization, said Old Saybrook's eagerness to be involved and the high school's desire to share the experience with New London students "made it a perfect opportunity." His organization is hoping to duplicate the experience later in the summer and fall for students from New Haven and Bridgeport and possibly other communities. He said several corporations have committed to underwriting the expense.

The six students will travel around Long Island Sound with the ship's crew, which is made up of educators and experienced sailors.

The students will share in the work of sailing the ship and learn "leadership and perseverance -- qualities the slaves aboard Amistad had," Perry said.

After the trip, the Amistad will dock at Between the Bridges marina for the June 10 weekend for tours and excursions, and the six students will be among the tour guides. The marina is owned by DiBella's husband, Bill, and partners.

A curriculum provided by the Amistad organization will be incorporated in school classes before the ship's arrival, and a website and a video will chronicle the students' sail.

Other plans are being developed to keep the schools in a long-term relationship with the Amistad, Belanger said.

Matt Rubin, a host committee member, said he has already received pledges for $15,000.

The committee hopes to raise considerably more than the $20,000 so it can establish a scholarship for other students to take trips aboard the ship in the future, DiBella said.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

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Source: The Hartford Courant, Connecticut

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