-Just outside Miami at Biscayne National Park,
there are artifacts from almost every point in human history.
But most of them aren't on land.
-So, we're the largest marine park
in the National Park Service system.
We're approximately 172,000 acres,
95% of which is underwater.
-Josh Morano is a maritime
archaeologist for the National Park Service.
-With terrestrial archaeology, a lot of folks
will study old house sites and stuff like that.
I focus on shipwrecks. -Josh, along with the rest
of the National Park Service, has spent the last five years
searching for a sunken slave ship called the Guerrero.
Can you tell me a little bit about the Guerrero?
-The Guerrero was a Spanish pirate slave ship
that had raided several other vessels off the coast of Africa.
By this point in history -- this is 1827 --
the importation of slaves was illegal in the United States.
-The Guerrero was on its way back
from the west coast of Africa
illegally with slaves when a British warship caught it.
The two ships started shooting at each other,
and a full-blown gun battle broke out.
But that ended abruptly
when both ships crashed against the reef somewhere near Florida
and possibly in Biscayne National Park.
520 of the slaves onboard survived the crash,
but no one really knew what to do with them.
-The logical thing, and what most people would say today,
is obviously "they're shipwreck survivors.
We need to take care of them."
But there was also the question of how to treat these people,
because at the time, they didn't see them as people.
They weren't sure if they should refer to them
as survivors or cargo.
-The National Park Service is determined to find this ship,
but it isn't easy.
In the 1850s, there was almost a shipwreck a week,
and surveying the over 500 wrecks in the area
just isn't something they can do by themselves.
-You think about how difficult it would be to have
15 trained archaeologists do anything.
Imagine the difficulty in putting them all underwater
where they can't talk.
It makes things inherently more difficult.
-The National Park Service enlisted the help
of Youth Diving With a Purpose.
It's a nonprofit that trains teenagers on how to survey
sunken shipwrecks, specifically slave shipwrecks.
-In high school, I wouldn't say that I didn't do my homework,
but I didn't keep up with it, so grades were kind of iffy.
But with this, I put a lot of my heart into this when I do it.
-Overall, I've gotten to do something
that most kids will never get to do.
I feel kind of like a personal connection
to some of these ships
just because you can measure every artifact.
You draw them, like, in as much detail as you possibly can.
You're down there for hours.
Like, the past two wrecks I've been on,
I remember in very clear detail even now.
-Tristan is training to become an underwater surveying guide.
So he showed me how it all comes together.
-So, we're about to take some measurements of artifacts
on the sea floor and figure out their distance
from the through line in the middle of the ship.
-Okay, now that's called a trilateration?
-Yes, it's called a trilateration.
It's where you take two points on that middle
of the through line through the wreck
and you find the distance to the artifact from them.
-Ready to descend when you are. -Okay.
-To document a shipwreck, the National Park Service
places a long tape measure called a baseline
through the center of the wreck site.
Then teams of about 15 students divide the site into quadrants
and place flags next to anything
that they think looks like an artifact.
From there, they'll partner up and measure the distance
of the artifact from the baseline and its dimensions,
then draw a small replica of the object on Mylar paper,
all underwater.
On the surface, they'll recreate the entire shipwreck
with scale drawings
and create a digitized version for the National Park Service.
The students and teenagers that are a part of this program,
they have gone and helped survey ships
that you all suspect could have been the Guerrero.
What were those experiences like?
-They're mission oriented,
and I don't think the gravity of the situation is lost.
I think that's really what drives them to come out
and really put their heart
and soul into working on these shipwrecks.
-Their dedication is incredible, and one of the reasons for that
is the connection to their own lives
as descendants of slaves in America.
-It makes me feel more connected to my past ancestors
than what any history class has ever taught me.
Being down there underwater and being able to, you know,
hold onto just a little bit
so you can take that measurement is --
oh, man, I can't even put it into words.
It's really cool.
But this is a lot to process at their age.
Thinking critically about slavery
and what happened during slavery
doesn't typically take on such a prominent role
in the lives of teenagers.
-I don't like saying this, but I really like learning
about slavery and all that and all the details and stuff.
Like, some people don't like learning about that,
but, I mean, sounds interesting to me.
-Why don't you like saying that? -I don't know, I just --
I feel weird saying it because, you know, slavery is bad and --
-What makes you think that there's something wrong
with liking learning about slavery?
-I guess mostly because I'm a black girl saying
that I like learning about slavery,
about my people being oppressed.
I mean, everybody knows about it,
but they're not as interested as me.
-It's been told to me more times than I can count that I am
about three generations removed from slavery.
That's it.
And I think that it's helping me see the fact
that my great-great-grandfather was, in fact, a slave.
I mean, it helps me connect with that better in some way.
-How does it feel for you going down on some of these ships
and thinking about the possibility
that your ancestors could have come to America on one of them?
-I mean, it makes me feel angry
that this is something that happened.
It makes me feel, like, elated that we no longer
have to deal with something like that.
It is confusing that people would even have done
something like that, but -- -It seems like you're struggling
with having pride in doing this kind of work
but also being sad about slavery
and about that being a part of your ancestry and history.
-The thing is that it's a really fun thing to do,
but, I mean, I feel kind of wrong
enjoying something that caused misery for others.
It's a really hard thing to accept,
and, I mean, when I go down, I at least try to remember
that a finite number of people, they drowned right here.
-You know, the history of slavery,
the history of the Guerrero, it's American history,
and so we all own it and it's all part of us.
But my ancestors were not on that ship.
So, for the potential of these folks to have a direct line
to that, it provides -- while it's all of our history
and it's all of our story to share and to research,
it obviously is different for these students
who may have descended from folks on this ship.
-Surveying sunken shipwrecks has forced students
like Michaela and Tristan to confront American history
head on in a real and tangible way.
Their introduction to adulthood is now deeply intertwined
with an internalized appreciation for slavery.
And while that can be difficult to process,
as they both head off to college,
the thing that stands out most is their ancestors' resilience.
-I like learning about my history
and what people have gone through so I can be here now.
Yeah, it's made me think that once I've gotten myself
into my secured path and way to my career
that I can really make a difference out in the world.
You know, I can definitely see myself in, like, a museum
with my face on the plaque or something.
-How does it make you feel
to know that your ancestors survived slavery?
-Well, I would say that,
honestly, it's a triumph of the race.
It shows how resilient people
are when they really want or need something.
I feel exceedingly empowered to be able
to write their history and share it with others.
I think that we can at least try to create a society
that is more accepting of what happened
and trying to rectify issues that were caused by it.
We are a small part of a bigger solution.