President Bio Uses Amistad Story To Renew Sierra Leone’s Call For Reparatory Justice
Aaron Parker President Julius Maada Bio has used the historic Amistad story to renew Sierra Leone’s call for reparatory justice over the enduring consequences of enslavement and the transatlantic slave trade.
Speaking at the United First Parish Church in Quincy, Massachusetts, on Sunday, September 27, 2026, under the theme “Celebrating Courage: Honouring the Historic Link Between Quincy and Sierra Leone,” President Bio said the Amistad legacy must go beyond remembrance to responsibility, justice and reconciliation.
The President highlighted the story of Sengbe Pieh, known in the United States as Joseph Cinqué, and fellow Mende captives who were forcibly taken from Sierra Leone in 1839 and enslaved aboard the Spanish schooner La Amistad. Their resistance led to a landmark legal battle in the United States Supreme Court, where former President John Quincy Adams argued for their freedom. The Supreme Court affirmed their freedom in 1841.
Bio described the Amistad story as reflecting two forms of courage: Sengbe Pieh’s resistance to injustice and Adams’ decision to confront the case through law, conscience and principle.
During his visit to Adams National Historical Park, Bio also viewed the Mendi Bible preserved in the Stone Library, describing it as a witness to history and a sacred link between Sierra Leone and the United States.
He said reparatory justice is not about reopening old wounds, but about acknowledging historical truth, honouring victims, addressing the lasting consequences of injustice and building a more equitable future.
Bio further linked Sengbe Pieh’s courage to Sierra Leone’s resilience through the eleven-year civil war, Ebola, the 2017 mudslide and COVID-19, saying the country repeatedly recovered from adversity.
He stressed that lasting progress requires peace, strong institutions, education, justice and respect for human dignity, while calling for greater efforts to educate children, tackle hunger and food insecurity, expand opportunities for women and girls, and enable Africans to shape their future with dignity and agency.
Bio called for the historic relationship between Quincy and Sierra Leone to be strengthened around truth, justice, freedom, friendship and shared humanity, stressing that history should not merely be remembered but should instruct future generations.
