AP Report: An artifact from a slave ship will soon leave the Smithsonian to return to its home in South Africa

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Smithsonian Museum exhibit about the sea voyage millions of Africans were forced to make across the Atlantic into slavery in the Americas will change hands later this month, when the remains of one of the first sunken slave ships ever recovered go on display in Washington.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture says a wooden piece from the slave ship, São José-Paquete de Africa, on display in the “Slavery and Freedom” exhibit, will soon be prepared for a return trip to its original museum in South Africa.

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The 33-pound (15-kilogram) wooden piece has been prominently displayed — apparently suspended above a dark void, weighted on its side — as part of a loan agreement for the museum since it opened in 2016. The agreement, examined by The Associated Press, was initially for five years, then was extended for another five years in 2021, and expires on July 1.

The ship’s remains will be among many items to be sent to South Africa’s Iziko Museums later this year. Due to their delicate nature, a special box must be built to transport them.

Other items from the ship, including the ballasts that served as a counterweight to the human cargo, are still on display and will be returned to South Africa within two years. The manifest on the ship will replace the wooden piece.

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The last day for museum visitors to view the displayed wooden piece is March 22.

The remains of the transatlantic slave trade were recovered in 2015

The São José, a Portuguese ship bound for Brazil with more than 400 captives from Mozambique on board, struck a rock and sank in December 1794 off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. Half of the people on board died. The survivors were sold into slavery in the Western Cape, according to the Smithsonian Institution.

The ship was recovered in 2015, identified and studied by the Slave Wrecks Project, an international network of institutions that confirmed its connection to the transatlantic slave trade. This ship is among the first known recovered shipwrecks in which enslaved Africans died.

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São José’s piece is located on the museum’s lower public floor and is part of the larger “Slavery and Freedom” exhibit, which focuses on the slave trade, including ships and conditions of transportation, as well as artifacts, such as shackles.

The exhibition deals with the Middle Passage, a particularly perilous part of the Atlantic crossing where many captives died. While there is no exact count, the number of people who died during the journey is estimated in the millions, according to Paul Gardullo, assistant director of history at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Slavery exhibit changes in ways unrelated to Trump museum review

The change to the slavery exhibit comes at a time when any changes related to American history and story in federal parks, museums or other public spaces are being scrutinized. President Donald Trump’s administration has focused on holding the United States in good stead as the country prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The displays, exhibitions, and programs of several Smithsonian museums are under review as part of an executive order signed by the Republican president in March 2025, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity in American History.” The National Museum of African American History and Culture is one of the institutions mentioned in the order.

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Michelle Commander, the museum’s deputy director, told the AP that the exhibit change was entirely tied to the loan agreement, but she realized the timing might raise questions.

“That’s why we’re being transparent at this moment, because we realize there are these kinds of questions,” Commander said. “But, as we said, it really comes down to the preservation needs of that element.”

As part of the loan, the South African government has a strong cultural heritage law that specifies how artefacts and historical materials are treated and how long they can be loaned, Gardullo said.

“Wooden materials are more fragile and need more careful care,” he said.

“Very strong”

Visitors to the National Museum of African American History and Culture recently spoke of the power of the display with slave ship wood, unaware that it would soon be replaced.

Queues wait to enter the dark gallery, called the Middle Corridor, where solemnity reigns as people study the dark space where the wood stands next to the ship’s ballast. Cristina Hernandez, who was there to accompany her 7-year-old son’s classmates, said the tangible nature of the exhibit took him out of textbooks and into reality.

Anehtra Reynolds, from northern Virginia, was emotional as she left the area. She said the display, including the artifacts and the darkness of the gallery, gave her “a piece of what they felt in terms of their misery.”

“I believe there is a sign indicating that some slaves starved themselves to death in hopes of being returned to their lands when they died,” Reynolds said.

Jim Carnes, who was in Washington visiting family from Birmingham, Alabama, said he was familiar with much of the information because he had worked in civil rights education in Birmingham and Montgomery, two places central to the country’s civil rights history.

“The artifacts are very powerful,” he said, adding that he is saddened and angry not only by the slave conditions but also by the current pressure from the federal government “to deny that this ever happened.”

Jorge Carvajal, who is originally Colombian but lives with his wife in South Florida, said seeing the exhibition silenced stereotypes, especially since black people are unreasonably angry.

“Empathy is what I’m trying to say. This will help people have more empathy. I mean, at least you hope,” he said.

The leader said that staff at the museum will work to ensure that the exhibition continues to have the same impact with the remaining artifacts and exhibits.

She added: “The story does not leave the museum because these woods will be returned to their owners.”