Relics of the transatlantic slave trade have been on display in a major gallery at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture since its opening, and they will soon leave Washington, D.C.
according to Associated Press, The museum plans to remove a fragment of wood from the São José-Paquete de Africa, a Portuguese slave ship that sank off the coast of Cape Town in 1794 with more than 400 captive Africans on board. The 33-pound piece of wood has been on display in the museum’s “Slavery and Freedom” exhibition since 2016 and will return to South Africa’s Iziko Museum when its loan agreement expires this year.
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Museum officials said the artifact will be last on display on March 22.
The timbers sit at the center of one of the museum’s most solemn spaces, a dimly lit gallery dedicated to the Middle Passage, the brutal Atlantic crossing that brought millions of enslaved Africans to the Americas. The fragment hangs in a dark space next to ballast stones once used on the ship, providing a rare physical connection to a ship that powered the slave trade.
When the object leaves Washington, it will be replaced by the ship’s cargo manifest, documenting the people who were forced aboard.
In December 1794, the São José sank after running aground near Cape Town while en route to Brazil. About half of the prisoners on board perished in the sinking. The survivors were later sold into slavery in the Western Cape. The wreck was identified in 2015 after it was recovered through the International Slave Wreck Project, which studies sea areas associated with the transatlantic slave trade.
Museum leaders said the change reflected conservation needs and the terms of the loan, which was initially set for five years and later extended to July 1, 2026. The fragile condition of the wood required it to be specially handled and shipped back to South Africa.
Still, any changes to the museum’s presentation of American history now draw scrutiny. In 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to review how national museums and historic sites, including those within the Smithsonian, present American history.
The Museum of African American History has faced questions about changes to its exhibits in recent months. Last year, some lenders said items they loaned to museums were being returned earlier than expected, though the institution said the moves reflected the routine rotation of galleries.
For visitors, however, the Slavery Gallery remains one of the museum’s most powerful spaces. Curators say even after the fragment leaves Washington, the history it represents will remain firmly in place.
