Diving Into History: Searches For Sunken Slave Ships Become Personal Journeys For Black Diver

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'Diving with a Purpose' Lead Dive Instructor Jay Haigler cradles a stone from a ballast pile in Coral Bay, St. John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The stones have been key to identifying slave ships, often used to balance the weight of captives in a ship's cargo hold.

David Doubilet/National Geographic

In amazing story, WUNC's Leoneda Inge discussed her recent project for public radio about African Americans getting into underwater diving for the purpose to locate sunken slave ships. This included Tara Roberts of Atlanta with family roots in North Carolina. This interview originally aired Feb. 23, 2022.

Paul Foster

Paul brings you regional news during NPR's Morning Edition from 7 to 9 weekdays, the "Friday Feature" on Fridays and "More to the Story" on Wednesdays. Curating WNCW's Art Break and public service news rounds out his commitment to the communities we serve.

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