Amistad Memorial

The Amistad Memorial was dedicated in 1992 and pays tribute to Joseph Cinque and the other Mende Africans who escaped slavery in 1839 by commandeering the Spanish ship La Amistad. The three-sided relief sculpture tells the triumphant story of Cinque’s journey. On one side, Cinque is shown in his homeland, in modern-day Sierra Leone, Africa prior to his capture. The second relief depicts one of the courtroom trials in the United States. The final scene shows Cinque free again, embarking on a ship for his return to Africa. The memorial, created by artist Ed Hamilton, stands where the New Haven Jail was located at the time the Mende African captives were housed there.