During her travels, Roberts began to see a way of interpreting one of the most painful parts of global history through a new lens, with a loving perspective and the possibility of bringing closure to a deep wound.

Roberts's luminous talk explores the transformative power of storytelling to weave connections with those that came before us. And it underscores how the past is and will continue to be an eternal presence in our lives.

#NatGeo #BlackHistory #SlaveShips #USHistory #Clotilda #Shipwrecks #TaraRoberts #TEDxtalks #TEDxJacksonville

National Geographic Explorer and storyteller Tara Roberts embarked on a life-changing journey alongside Diving With a Purpose — a team of Black scuba divers — in search of shipwrecks that once carried captive Africans during the transatlantic slave trade. Roberts documented her travels and the stories of the divers, historians, archaeologists, and communities she met along the way for the National Geographic Societyfunded podcast series, "Into the Depths." The critically-acclaimed series received close to half a million downloads and was listed on ‘best of’ lists for Essence magazine and Spotify. Roberts became the first Black female explorer to grace the cover of the National Geographic magazine, where her story reached over 26 million people. Most recently, she was named the 2022 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year, becoming the first Black American to ever receive the honor. Roberts was also a Fellow at MIT’s Open Documentary Lab and has worked as an editor for CosmoGirl, Essence, AOL, EBONY and Heart & Soul. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx