Dive The Clotilda
Jeremy Ellis is a direct descendant of Kupollee and Rose Allen, two of the 110 people brought to Alabama aboard the Clotilda in 1860. He is preparing to dive the wreck of the ship his ancestors arrived on.
Project overview
A descendant-led dive to inspect and document the Clotilda wreck, carried out with Diving With a Purpose and subject to permit approval.
- Led by
- Jeremy Ellis
- Partner organization
- Diving With a Purpose (DWP)
- Site
- 1BA704, Mobile River, Alabama
- Permitting agency
- Alabama Historical Commission
The Descendant
Jeremy learned about the Clotilda from his grandmother, Beatrice Ellis, known to the family as Mom Bea. She kept the story alive through festivals, church, and days of remembrance in Africatown, and she made sure her grandchildren took part.
Through her stories he came to know Kupollee (Pollee) and Rose Allen, two of the founders of Africatown. Beatrice served as a president of the original Africatown Direct Descendants of the Clotilda. Jeremy is a past president of the current organization. She died in May 2011, and his search for the rest of the story grew from there.
It is time for a descendant to dive the ship their ancestors arrived on.
Jeremy Ellis, Diving With a Purpose: My Journey to Dive Clotilda
He hopes those in authority will allow the world to see and hear from a descendant who has dived his ancestors’ ship, and to learn about the people who arrived on it.
Jeremy Dion Ellis lives in Mableton, Georgia, and previously lived in Mobile, Alabama.
The Clotilda
The Clotilda was the last known slave ship to bring captives from Africa to the United States. The voyage was illegal. Importing enslaved people had been banned some 52 years earlier.
After the secret voyage, the ship was burned and sunk to hide the evidence. The survivors went on to found Africatown, a neighborhood north of Mobile, Alabama, that still exists today.
The wreck site was designated a National Historic Place in November 2021, and any activity there requires a permit from the Alabama Historical Commission.
Key facts
- Arrived
- Mobile Bay, summer 1860
- People aboard
- 110, adults and children
- Vessel
- Two-masted schooner, about 86 feet by 23 feet
- Wreck site
- 1BA704, near Twelve Mile Island, Mobile County
My Journey
It started with Mom Bea
My journey to dive the Clotilda began long before I earned my NAUI Open Water certification in May 2023. It started with my grandmother, Beatrice Ellis, whom we called Mom Bea. Through storytelling and community activities in Africatown, she kept the history of my ancestors, Kupollee (Pollee), Rose, and their shipmates, alive.
She made sure my cousins and I went to the festivals, programs, and events put on every year by the Africatown Direct Descendants of the Clotilda, which was incorporated in 1984. Through those programs and her stories, I learned about Pollee and Rose Allen, two of the founders of Africatown.
Looking for answers
Mom Bea passed away in May 2011, and after that my desire to learn more about my ancestors only grew. I reached out to authors, researchers, and anyone who could help me fill in the gaps. In 2015 I interviewed Sylviane Diouf, author of Dreams of Africa in Alabama, on my FreeLunch Podcast. I kept talking with relatives and former members of the original descendant organization, and I read works like Dr. Natalie Robertson’s The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Making of Africatown, USA.
As public interest in verifying the Clotilda grew, I interviewed maritime archaeologist Dr. James Delgado several times about the ship and the effort to preserve it. Those conversations introduced me to Kamau Sadiki and the work he was doing with Diving With a Purpose.
Learning to dive
I learned to swim growing up in Mobile, and I had been interested in scuba since the early 2000s, when I lived in Houston. The Africatown Swim to Scuba program, launched by DWP and its partners, finally made that dream within reach for descendants and residents like me.
It took several attempts, and some convincing on my part that I was serious, but in March 2023 Kamau connected me with NAUI instructor Courtlandt Butts. We did our swim tests in early-morning sessions, sometimes as early as 5 a.m. at our local gym, and finished the skills in the deeper pool at Diver Supply. Then came online coursework, virtual instruction, and a written exam. In May 2023 we traveled to Key Largo to complete my open-water dives in the Atlantic.
A shift on the flight home
Mission accomplished, but something deeper happened that weekend. Somewhere on the flight home, I realized I was no longer a recreational diver. I was Diving With a Purpose. Scuba had given me a spiritual awakening and a connection with my ancestors, and my purpose became clear: to dive the Clotilda and bring awareness to my ancestors, their shipmates, and the crime committed in 1860 when 110 people were brought to America.
Field School XX
From then on, building my skills was the focus. Later in 2023 I earned my NAUI Advanced Open Water certification, and I kept diving in the ocean to meet the requirements for DWP’s Field School. After two years of training, I applied and was accepted to Field School XX in 2026.
The field school is an intense, full-week program that teaches the basics of underwater archaeology: two and a half days of classroom sessions, then three days of diving and debriefs, ending with final drawings of the wreck site. I graduated on June 6, 2026, as a Maritime Archaeology Advocate, with Kamau as one of my lead instructors.
What comes next
Weeks after finishing Field School XX, I earned my NAUI Scuba Rescue Diver certification. Kamau and I have since written a dive plan, and it has to be approved by the Alabama Historical Commission before any dive can happen. There is no date yet. In the meantime, I’m checking every box I can.
It is time for a descendant to dive the ship their ancestors arrived on. My hope is that the world will be able to see, hear, and learn from a descendant who has dived his ancestors’ ship, and to learn about the people who arrived on it.
Jeremy Ellis
Dive Plan
Jeremy wrote the Descendant Reclamation, Reconciliation and Spiritual Dive plan with Diving With a Purpose, for submission to the Alabama Historical Commission. No diving takes place until the Commission approves it.
Document, don’t disturb
Divers will not disturb, move, or remove anything unless the approved research design specifically allows it. The work consists of inspection, photographs, measurements, and drawings.
Respect for the people aboard
Any human remains found will be treated under Alabama regulations and all applicable federal and state law. Water rituals honoring the ancestors are planned before and after any dive.
Safety first
Oxygen and first-aid equipment stay on site, a standby diver is ready, and every diver carries a bailout bottle. The nearest recompression chamber is at Springhill Medical Center in Mobile.
| Plan detail | What the plan says |
|---|---|
| Location | Archaeological site 1BA704, near Twelve Mile Island, Mobile County, Alabama |
| Expected conditions | Depth of 10 feet or less. Visibility of 0 to 2 feet. |
| Reasons to delay or stop | Winds over 10 to 15 knots, waves above 3 feet, small craft advisories, forecast severe thunderstorms, or any condition the dive master judges unsafe |
| Team size | Minimum of three: dive master, standby diver, and topside supervisor |
| Before each dive | Full pre-dive briefing, equipment inspections, and air quality certification. The dive master may include a moment of acknowledgment. |
| Standards followed | National Historic Preservation Act, Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987, US Navy Diving Manual, and the American Academy of Underwater Sciences Standards for Scientific Diving |
| Changes to the plan | Any change in mission, depth, personnel, or equipment is reviewed with the Commission’s representative before diving |
Dive Team
Three divers share the work: a lead diver who supervises the dive, a supervisor who runs rescue and topside safety, and the descendant observer.
Kamau Sadiki
Lead diver and dive master
NAUI Open Water Instructor, board member and lead instructor with Diving With a Purpose. A Greenwood native now living in Maryland, he has mentored Jeremy throughout this journey.
Courtlandt Butts
Dive supervisor
NAUI Instructor Trainer and Jeremy’s first scuba instructor. He assists the dive master, serves as standby diver, and runs rescue and emergency procedures.
Jeremy Ellis
Descendant observer
NAUI Rescue Diver and DWP Underwater Archaeological Advocate. He dives under the direct supervision of the dive master.
In the News
Index-Journal, Greenwood, South Carolina. By St. Claire Donaghy, October 11, 2026.
Greenwood native helps Georgia man prepare to dive Clotilda
The Index-Journal reports on how Sadiki, a Greenwood High School graduate from the class of 1972, has mentored Jeremy toward the dive. It also covers the Alabama Historical Commission approval the dive requires and the role of the Africatown Swim to Scuba program in Jeremy’s training.
Read the article