Slave Shipwreck Pilgrimage

Corey Malcom, center, lead historian with the Florida Keys History Center, talks to Black divers from the Underwater Adventure Seekers, as they visit a memorial built on the site where hundreds of Africans who died in 1860 after being rescued from three slave ships were buried, on Higgs Beach in Key West, Fla., Saturday, May 9, 2026.

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Underwater memorial to wrecked slave ship draws pilgrims seeking to connect with their roots

Underwater memorial to wrecked slave ship draws pilgrims seeking to connect with their roots

A group of Black divers recently visited the site where the British slave ship Henrietta Marie sank 326 years ago. The ship, which had transported enslaved people from West Africa to Jamaica, sank near Key West, Florida. Divers said they felt a deep connection to their ancestors during the pilgrimage. It included a dive at the wreck site, a visit to the museum housing artifacts from the slave ship, and a cemetery containing the remains of African refugees who arrived at Key West on slave ships. Pilgrims said the journey was a quest to connect with their history, roots and an effort to tell historically accurate stories that will nourish future generations.