Applying a Critical Race Theory (CRT), a Postcolonial Theory, and Liberation Theology methodologies, this book project traces how race, slavery, Christian theology, and freedom shaped the famous nineteenth-century Amistad case. From the recruitment process, to both oral and sign languages weaving the Amistad stories, from powerful testimonies of Africans inside and outside the courtroom, to evidentiary documents and pro-slavery fraudulent translations, this book illustrates the cruciality of the translation and interpreting tactics as part of the abolitionists’ aim to win the case on behalf of the Amistad Africans. Furthermore, this book examines the driving theological principles of Christian abolitionists and their mobilizing strategies to advance a divided US anti-slavery movement and to dismantle the institution of slavery by assuming the legal representation of the Amistad captives. Abolitionists in the continuum, and despite their internal contradictions, did not agree on racial equity for Afro-descendants US citizens. However, they came together for racial equality in the judicial system.

This historiographical and interdisciplinary book project focuses on the impact of how interpreters and translators mediated the Amistad racial and linguistic narratives. Inspired by CRT’s concepts of “legal storytelling,” that voice silenced stories of those marginalized and racialized in the courts, the author adopts a writing style intending to reach a wider churched and unchurched readership. Despite the emancipation laws of the two centuries ago, prevailing human trafficking and mass incarceration prod the church to engage in a contemporary abolitionist movement. This book reflects critically on the abolitionist movement of yesterday to create sustainable racial and linguistic equity today in our churches and society. This grant will allow me to convert my dissertation into a publishable manuscript under contract by August 2023.