November 23-December 7, 1998Volume 27, Number 14
Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery,
Resistance and Abolition opens
PHOTO BY MICHAEL MARSLAND
The historic Amistad incident -- in which captive Africans aboard a slave ship rose up against their oppressors only to face trial for mutiny before winning their freedom -- was the focus of talks, screenings and other events marking the opening of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition. A ceremony held on Nov. 16 at the Amistad Memorial in front of New Haven City Hall marked the formal dedication of the new center. Among the dignitaries on hand for that ceremony were (from left): David Brion Davis, the Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar of slavery and abolition, who will serve as the center's first director; President Richard C. Levin; and United Nations Ambassador Fode Dobor from Sierra Leone, and his wife.