This Week @MHS

FEATURED ITEM

Letter from Kale to John Quincy Adams

In July 1839, fifty-three kidnapped Africans from Sierra Leone revolted aboard the slave ship Amistad and took over its command. After the US Navy intercepted them, they were held in Connecticut and waited for the courts to decide their fate.

Former president John Quincy Adams took up their defense once the case headed to the US Supreme Court. Before the trial began on 24 February 1841, Kale, one of the captured Africans, wrote to Adams. In this letter, he shared his experiences in the US and implored Adams for his freedom. Adams successfully defended Kale and his compatriots and they were allowed to return home.

Learn more about the Amistad and our related collection materials.

"Every day and night we think about our country. Bad men say Mendi people no have souls. Why we feel bad we no have no souls. We want to be free very much. Dear friend Mr Adams you have children and friends you love them you feel very sorry if Mendi people come and take all to Africa."

—Kale to John Quincy Adams, 4 January 1841

Tuesday, 4 March, 5:00 PM: The Legacy of Loyalism and Resistance in the North Atlantic—A Panel Discussion. This is a seminar.

Thursday, 6 March, 5:00 PM: “Conduct very bad”: The Agency and Resistance of Black Indentured Children within New York’s Colored Orphan Asylum. This is a seminar.

Tuesday, 11 March, 6:00 PM: Making History Gala

Tuesday, 18 March, 5:00 PM: The Dakkabar Connection: Robert E. Paige and the Global Crafts of the Black Arts Movement. This is a seminar.

Thursday, 20 March, 5:00 PM: After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart. This is a seminar.

See the full calendar.

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