President Bio Calls for Reparatory Justice, Invoking Historic Amistad Legacy
Drawing on Sierra Leone’s deeply rooted historical connection to the Amistad rebellion, President Julius Maada Bio renewed international calls for reparatory justice to address the enduring impacts of enslavement and the transatlantic slave trade.
Delivering an address on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, at the United First Parish Church—known as the Church of Presidents—Bio spoke to a gathering assembled to mark the historic bonds between Quincy, Massachusetts, and Sierra Leone.
Bio highlighted that the shared history between the two regions is anchored in the legacy of Sengbe Pieh and the Amistad captives.
The address followed the President’s tour of Adams National Historical Park, where he viewed the historic Mendi Bible preserved inside the Stone Library. Describing the Bible as a bridge across generations, Bio noted its central role in the aftermath of the Amistad affair.
In 1839, Sengbe Pieh (known in the U.S. as Joseph Cinqué) and dozens of Mende captives were taken from Sierra Leone and illegally enslaved aboard the Spanish schooner La Amistad. After revolting and steering the vessel to American shores, they faced a legal battle that culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court, where former President John Quincy Adams successfully argued for their liberation.
The Supreme Court ordered the captives freed in 1841, allowing them to return to Africa. Reflecting on these events, Bio stated that the episode demonstrated Pieh’s physical resistance to bondage and Adams’ legal advocacy against systemic injustice.
“Nearly two hundred years ago, Sengbe Pieh came to these shores in chains. Today, the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone comes to Quincy in freedom and friendship. That is the distance history has travelled,” Bio told the audience.
Emphasizing that time does not erase moral obligations, Bio asserted that reparatory justice requires acknowledging historical wrongs, establishing accountability, and fostering genuine reconciliation.
He clarified that reparations aim to address persisting structural inequities rather than reopen old wounds, stating, “It is about memory joined with responsibility, and justice joined with reconciliation.”
Connecting historical resilience to Sierra Leone's modern trial, Bio reflected on the nation’s survival through civil conflict, the Ebola crisis, the devastating 2017 mudslide, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Each time, we grieved. Each time, we stumbled. But each time, Sierra Leone rose again,” Bio said.
Citing Sierra Leone’s successful return to democratic civilian governance, he stressed that enduring national progress relies on peace, robust institutions, public education, and adherence to human dignity.
Bio urged the international community to apply these same principles to contemporary global challenges, including expanding educational access, combating food insecurity, advancing women's rights, and protecting African sovereignty.
“Sengbe Pieh fought for freedom. Our responsibility is to give that freedom meaning,” Bio emphasized.
He added that true freedom must manifest as economic opportunity for youth, political empowerment for women, and self-determination for developing nations.
Bio concluded by thanking the city of Quincy and the host organizations for preserving this shared legacy, noting that the Amistad narrative reminds us that “courage can cross oceans.”
“History must not merely be remembered; it must instruct us,” Bio concluded.
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