Talks & Entertainment

This event has been canceled due to inclement weather. All attendees will be contacted Tuesday, February 11 with information about their refunds. With questions, contact [email protected].

When National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Tara Roberts first saw a photograph at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture depicting the underwater archaeology group Diving With a Purpose, it called out to her. Here were Black women and men strapping on masks, fins, and tanks to explore Atlantic Ocean waters, seeking the wrecks of long lost slave ships. Inspired, Roberts joined them—and started on a path of discovery more challenging and personal than she could ever have imagined.

In Written in the Waters: A Memoir of History, Home, and Belonging, Roberts offers an understanding of the 12.5 million people carried away from their African homeland to enslavement on other continents. Inspired by the descendants of those who lost their lives during the Middle Passage, Roberts also explores her own family history and life as a Black woman to help make sense of her identity. 

Roberts’ journey was turned into a podcast, “Into the Depths,” and is the first Black female explorer to be featured on the cover of National Geographic magazine. She will be in conversation with Kaitlin Yarnall, chief storytelling officer at the National Geographic Society.

A book signing will follow the event for those who would like a name added to their book.