Exploring the Jagged Edges of History: ‘The Black Schooner’ Launch at New Haven Museum

On Wednesday, September 30, 2026, the New Haven Museum will throw open its doors for a celebration that feels more like a rally than a typical book launch. The evening kicks off with a casual reception at 5 p.m., followed by a program at 6 p.m. that’s being billed as a deep dive into the “jagged edges” of a little‑known chapter of American history.

“The Black Schooner: Rebellion on the Amistad” is not just another history book. It’s a stark, ink‑splattered graphic novel that follows the 1839 uprising of 53 men and women from Sierra Leone who seized the Spanish schooner Amistad, their harrowing journey to New Haven, and the courtroom drama that turned the city into a flashpoint for the abolitionist movement.

Creator David Lester, a graphic artist who also moonlights as a punk‑rock guitarist, will be joining the talk via video link. He explains that he wanted readers to feel the “visceral splash of ink” as if the pages themselves were a battleground. “The contrast between black and white, the raw texture—it’s meant to echo the rawness of resistance,” he says, smiling through a screen.

Across the room, historian Dr. Marcus Rediker, a distinguished professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh, will be on‑site. Rediker has spent years chronicling the Amistad episode—he wrote the 2012 book “The Amistad Rebellion” and co‑produced the award‑winning documentary “Ghosts of Amistad.” “Bringing this story to a graphic format lets a whole new audience see the rebels as the protagonists of their own freedom,” he notes.

Part of the evening is reserved for educators. At 4 p.m., Rediker and Lester will host a workshop aimed at teachers who want to use the novel as a “history‑from‑below” resource. They’ll talk about pulling primary sources into the classroom, role‑playing courtroom scenes, and helping students feel the emotional weight of the story without getting lost in dense prose.

Joanna Steinberg, the museum’s Director of Education, says the event builds on a pilot book club that launched in August with ten local teachers. “They were blown away by how engaged their students were with the graphic novel,” she reports. The museum, in partnership with the Anti‑Racist Teaching & Learning Collective, hopes the book club model will spread to more schools across Connecticut.

Signed copies of “The Black Schooner”—edited by Paul Buhle—will be on sale after the program, and all proceeds support the museum’s ongoing “Amistad: Retold” exhibition. That show, like the graphic novel, centers the Sierra Leone rebels and the New Haven community that fought to free them.

The launch is part of Connecticut Freedom Trail Month, and while the event is free, registration is required. Interested folks can sign up through the museum’s website. Whether you’re a history buff, a comic‑book fan, or simply curious about how art can make the past feel immediate, the night promises ink, insight, and a reminder that the fight for freedom is still very much alive.