Sarah Margu was just nine years old when she was sold into slavery, marched 80 miles to the West African coast, held in the notorious Dunbomo slave pens, and then trafficked to Cuba. In 1839, Margu was one of four children among the 53 captives aboard the schooner La Amistad, headed toward a life of slavery until they led a rebellion to protect their freedom. Following the revolt, and seizure of the Amistad, the captives were imprisoned in New Haven. As portrayed by the Executive Artistic Director of Hidden Women Stage Company Tammy Denease, Margu will share her story at the New Haven Museum on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 3 p.m. The free event will also stream on FB Live. 203-562-4183 / newhavenmuseum.org

On March 9, 1841, the Supreme Court ruled that the Amistad captives had been illegally enslaved and had thus exercised a natural right to defend their freedom. Margu’s first-person presentation, “Sarah Margu: A Child of the Amistad,” will share the moving details of her journey, her life in the Northeast, and what is today, Sierra Leone, and how she became the first African to graduate college in the United States. Margu will discuss how she became a deeply conflicted woman rooted in two different cultures, on two different continents.

This event is part of NH250, an ongoing series of programming developed by NHM to complement “America 250.” Culminating with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the series highlights inclusive, local, and lesser-known stories, connecting past and present.