Discovered in 1972, it remains a site of immense gravity, yielding the largest collection of slave-ship shackles ever recovered and over 20,000 artifacts from the transatlantic slave trade.
But the dive this summer, more spiritual than exploratory, wasn’ t just about 300 years ago. It was about today: reflection, remembrance, and a story still unfolding.
Micheal H. Cottman and crew revisit the Henrietta Marie site for an underwater interview about the historic vessel
Micheal H. Cottman takes a dive into the Henrietta Marie site
Michael H. Cottman reads the concrete marker placed at the Henrietta Marie site 33 years ago
As I sifted my hands through the sand, my memory surged. Years earlier, I had recovered small glass beads here— fragile, haunting remnants of the commercial systems that fueled human trafficking.
Underwater, I felt grateful to be there. Over the years, rough seas often prevented us from reaching the wreck site. I came to think of those setbacks as a kind of spiritual turbulence— a reminder of the immense human suffering carried aboard the Henrietta Marie and the weight of history resting beneath us.
At that moment, the wreck was no longer simply an archaeological site. It was a submerged memorial— a sacred testament to struggle, survival, and remembrance.
I was interviewed by Dr. Ayana Flewellen, a Stanford anthropologist, as part of her unprecedented“ Submerged Histories” project. Using full-face diving masks equipped with wireless communication, we spoke in real-time while kneeling on the seafloor.
Breathing in measured rhythms as bubbles rose toward the sunlight, I told her I felt honored to be a steward of this site— acknowledging the pain held here while making space for uplifting stories of resilience, achievement, and what comes next.
For much of my life, I have helped document and preserve the legacy of the Henrietta Marie. In 1993, I joined a team of Black divers to place a one-ton memorial on the site, widely regarded as the first underwater monument dedicated to a shipwrecked slave vessel.
Returning 33 years later, I knelt before that same concrete marker, which is still etched with the words:“ Henrietta Marie: Speak her name and gently touch the souls of our ancestors.”
I realized this important work now belongs to an emerging wave of young Black explorers, scholars, and storytellers. Beneath the sea, the past endures. It is their generation, I realize now, that must continue this important work of discovery. n
Michael H. Cottman is an award-winning journalist, author, and assistant to the Dean for Special Projects and Programs at Morgan State University’ s School of Global Journalism and Communication. He is the author of“ The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie.”
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