Amistad Research Center

The Amistad Research Center's ties to the American Missionary Association (AMA) can be traced to the AMA's roots in the coalition of abolitionists who came to the defense of the Amistad Africans. Under the banner of the Amistad Defense Committee, abolitionists and attorneys, with help from former President John Quincy Adams, took the case to the United States Supreme Court, which ruled that the Africans were free. The Amistad Committee evolved into the inter-racial AMA, which rose to the forefront of the fight for freedom and justice. The AMA founded hundreds of abolitionist and anti-caste churches and schools among African Americans, Native Americans, Puerto Ricans, Appalachian Whites, Asian Americans and Mexican Americans. Distinguished colleges and universities that emerged from these efforts include: Atlanta University, Berea College, Dillard University, Fisk University, Hampton University, Huston-Tillotson University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Talladega College, and Tougaloo College.