Amistad: A Supreme Court Decision, Marjorie Diggs Freeman

Artwork Overview

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Marjorie Diggs Freeman, artist
Amistad: A Supreme Court Decision, 2012
Where object was made: Durham, North Carolina, United States
Material/technique: machine appliqué; photo transfer; cotton cord; grosgrain ribbon; cotton batting; photo transferal; African cotton fabric; shackles of metal chains and half-beads; commercial cotton fabric; machine quilting by Nancy Cash; hand appliqué
Accession number: EL2017.043
Not on display
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Label texts

And Still We Rise

1839: Captive Africans being transported to Haiti aboard the Spanish ship La Amistad revolt and sail to Long Island Sound. They are arrested and held for trial. The event sparks a national debate on the institution of slavery that goes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and attracts support for the growing anti-slavery movement. Represented by John Quincy Adams, former U.S. president and sitting U.S. congressman, they will eventually win their freedom in the Supreme Court case United States v. The Amistad. This is the first civil rights case ever tried before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Exhibitions

And Still We Rise
2017