Alabama shipwreck holds key for kin of enslaved Africans


              Crew members leave Mobile, Ala., on their way to the wreck of the last U.S. slave ship, the Clotilda, on Monday, May 2, 2020. A team spent days on a coastal river assessing the remains of the ship, which was scuttled after arriving on the Gulf Coast more than 160 years ago. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
            
              A crane operator works at the wreck of the last U.S. slave ship, the Clotilda, near Mobile, Ala., on Monday, May 2, 2022. A crew spent days working to assess the remains of the ship, which was scuttled after arriving on the Gulf Coast more than 160 years ago. (AP Photo/Daniel Fiore, Alabama Historical Commission)
            
              Maritime archaeologist James Delgado, left, speaks at a public forum about the last U.S. slave ship, the Clotilda, in Mobile, Ala., on Monday, May 2, 2022. A crew is working to assess the remains of the ship, which was scuttled after arriving on the Gulf Coast more than 160 years ago. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
            
              Timbers from the wreckage of the last U.S. slave ship, the Clotilda, are shown on a barge near Mobile, Ala., on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. The ship was scuttled after arriving on the Gulf Coast more than 160 years ago. (AP Photo/Daniel Fiore, Alabama Historical Commission)
            
              Maritime archaeologist James Delgado and Lisa Jones, executive director of the Alabama Historical Commission, are shown on a barge working near the sunken remains of the last U.S. slave ship, the Clotilda, near Mobile, Ala., on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Fiore, Alabama Historical Commission)
            
              A diver removes a sunken tree from the wreck of the last U.S. slave ship, the Clotilda, near Mobile, Ala., on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. A crew spent days assessing remains of the ship, which was scuttled after arriving on the Gulf Coast more than 160 years ago. (AP Photo/Daniel Fiore, Alabama Historical Commission)
            
              An scanned image of the last U.S. slave ship, the Clotilda, is shown on a computer screen near Mobile, Ala., on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. A crew spent days on a river assessing the remains of the ship, which was scuttled after arriving on the Gulf Coast more than 160 years ago. (AP Photo/Daniel Fiore, Alabama Historical Commission)
            Members of the team assessing the sunken wreckage of the last U.S. slave ship, the Clotilda, are shown looking at timbers from the schooner near Mobile, Ala., on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. The ship was scuttled after arriving on the Gulf Coast more than 160 years ago. (AP Photo/Daniel Fiore, Alabama Historical Commission) Members of the team assessing the sunken wreckage of the last U.S. slave ship, the Clotilda, are shown looking at timbers from the schooner near Mobile, Ala., on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. The ship was scuttled after arriving on the Gulf Coast more than 160 years ago. (AP Photo/Daniel Fiore, Alabama Historical Commission)