The Amistad: A Conversation between our Past and Future

This September marks the 184-year anniversary since the start of the Amistad Trials at CT’s Old State House in Hartford, Connecticut. The trial and events leading up to it captured the public’s imagination and thrust the subject of slavery and justice to the forefront of conversation. Since then, the story of the Amistad Africans has been told and retold by historians, artists, and educators. How has the story evolved through the years? How has new research changed why and how we tell the story?? And what does the Amistad mean to us today? Join us at the historic courtroom in CT’s Old State House, right where the trials began nearly two centuries ago, for a deep dive into these and other fascinating questions. Our panel of experts: Tammy Denease, Outreach Director of the Connecticut Freedom Trail; Andre Keitt, Connecticut Storyteller and Educational Consultant for the Farmington Historical Society; Paula Mann-Agnew, Executive Director of Discovering Amistad; and Charles Warner Jr., Chair of the Connecticut Freedom Trail and member of the Amistad Committee, will explore the legacy of the Amistad and its role in our future. The panel will be moderated by Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz and Mariana García de la Noceda, CT’s Old State House Public Programs Manager.