The Amistad’s Voyage Continues

In The Spirit Of Freedom

By Steve Bigham

During Diversity Day celebrations at Pitney Bowes last week, Bill Pinkney, captain of Amistad America, spoke to some 100 employees inside the company’s warehouse. During his visit, the well-decorated man of the sea discussed slavery, his passion for sailing and the importance of understanding that, despite our variations, we are all pretty much the same.

Mr Pinkney, 64, skippers a replica of the 19th Century African slave ship, which was made famous in the 1997 Steven Spielberg motion picture Amistad. In 1839, A group of Africans in captivity took over the ship from their European captors, who were transporting the prisoners to the Americas. In their haste to return the ship to their homeland, the Africans mistakenly steered the ship into American waters. The event launched a legal battle for their freedom which went all the way to the US Supreme Court. The event is considered to be one of America’s earliest human rights cases.

In March of this year, Mr Pinkney and his crew set sail on Amistad America, seeking to use the $4 million vessel as a floating classroom complete with an exhibit about the Amistad story. The ship also serves as a symbol of today’s fight for human rights worldwide where an estimated 25 million people remain victims of some form of slavery.

The new 129-foot schooner, whose home port is New Haven (it was built in Mystic, CT), joined thousands of other ships this year at Operation Sail 2000. From there, the ship remained in the area where it sailed from port-to-port, inviting visitors onto its decks. In just six months 55,000 people have come aboard. Next year, the ship will set sail once again, traveling down the Eastern Seaboard, making stops along the way.

Today, as Captain Pinkney explained last week, the Amistad represents liberty and freedom. It is history re-created.

Ten years ago, Captain Pinkney became the first African-American (and fourth American) to sail solo around the world. And he did it the hard way, sailing around the world’s four large capes. At one point, the sailor traveled 65 straight days without seeing a single person or plot of land. During his voyage, the captain learned much about himself and the resolve that lies within us.

“Your limits move with you. Your limits only stop when you stop,” he said. “We have so much within us that we never use.”

Born in Chicago in the late 1930s, Bill Pinkney realized at a young age that his destiny was to be an adventurer. Today, he is living his dream. The accomplished sailor of 40 years is a US Navy veteran, US Coast Guard licensed master and former cosmetic marketing executive. His passion for sailing comes from reading.

“I call myself a dreamer. To me, there’s no future without a dream,” he said.

The captain also commanded a ship that sailed the Middle Passage two years ago, recreating the historic slave route across the Atlantic Ocean. The trip began in the British Virgin Islands, crossed the Atlantic and returned to North America. A group of teachers was among those on board and the ship, equipped with communication devices, allowed those on board to talk to students in classrooms all across the country.

In the end, the Amistad slaves were set free as the Supreme Court ruled they had the right to use any means necessary to get their freedom. With both education and communication, Captain Pinkney believes everyone can someday feel what it is like to be free.

“If our mothers are all pretty much the same, how could we be that far apart?” he wondered. “We talk too much about our differences. We are all people – human beings. Until we talk to each other, we never know that about each other.”