In the 1970's, the treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his team of divers were searching for Spanish gold when they found a shipwreck near Key West, Florida. Divers discovered conclusive evidence of the remains of the only slave ship wrecked in the Western Hemisphere that has ever been identified by name-The Henrietta Marie. The Henrietta Marie is considered by experts to be the world's largest collection of tangible objects representing the early period of trade in enslaved African Americans and now Nassau County residents have the unique opportunity to view the remains of this ship with their own eyes.

Nassau County Legislator Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead), together with County Executive Thomas Suozzi and the Nassau County Parks and Recreation Department, present the exhibit "A Slave Ship Speaks-The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie" at the Nassau County African American Museum, located at 110 North Franklin Avenue in Hempstead. The exhibition, which has been touring the country since 1995, highlights the slave trade at the end of the 17th Century.

The exhibition uses the artifacts and the ship's records as touchstones for entering the daily lives of the Africans aboard the ship as they made their journey to the New World as slaves.

"I would encourage everyone to visit this exhibit and to learn all they can from this archeological history lesson," said Legislator Abrahams.

The exhibit also includes access to Freedman's Banks Records, a unique, searchable database documenting several generations of African Americans immediately following the Civil War.

This historic exhibit has been made possible at a minimal cost to County taxpayers and through private donations. For more information and museum hours call 516-572-0730.