Take Me to the Water: Histories of the Black Pacific
Exhibit included with General Admission
(SAN DIEGO, CA) – The Maritime Museum of San Diego now welcomes visitors to Take Me to the Water: Histories of the Black Pacific, a new exhibit and educational initiative that opened Saturday, May 23, 2026 aboard the National Historic Landmark steam ferryboat Berkeley. Developed in partnership with UC San Diego curator Dr. Caroline Collins, the exhibit explores the overlooked and far-reaching history of Black maritime experiences throughout the Pacific world.
The exhibit is included with General Admission and invites visitors to discover stories of Black whalers, sailors, fishers, explorers, laborers, and waterfront communities whose contributions helped shape the Pacific Coast and the broader maritime history of the United States.
Dr. Caroline Collins, Assistant Professor of Social and Spatial Justice in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at UC San Diego, serves as curator and project director. A San Diego native, Collins traces her interest in Black relationships with water and maritime culture to childhood experiences along Southern California’s coastline. She is also affiliated with the Democracy Lab, Design Lab, Indigenous Futures Institute, and Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology, and co-founded Black Like Water, an interdisciplinary research collective examining Black relationships to the natural world.
“Take Me to the Water: Histories of the Black Pacific expands the public’s understanding of maritime history and the essential role Black mariners played in shaping the Pacific world,” said Christina Connett Brophy, PhD, President & CEO of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. “The exhibit offers visitors an opportunity to engage with stories that have too often been overlooked while deepening our collective understanding of America’s maritime and cultural origins.”
Spanning centuries of Pacific maritime activity, the exhibit highlights Black participation in industries and communities connected to the ocean—from commercial shipping and naval service to surfing, waterfront labor, scientific study, and cultural exchange. Through immersive storytelling, historical interpretation, and visual media, the experience encourages visitors to reconsider conventional narratives surrounding both maritime history and Black history in America.
“By integrating the stories of Black seafarers into the broader narrative of Pacific maritime history, the exhibit creates space for deeper conversations about inclusion, identity, and belonging,” explained Dr. Collins. “Visitors are invited to imagine Black relationships with water and watercraft beyond the limited frameworks that have traditionally defined those histories.”
In addition to the exhibit, plans continue for educational programming and maritime skills-building opportunities for aspiring young mariners in partnership with UC San Diego Directed Group Study initiatives.
Take Me to the Water: Histories of the Black Pacific has been made possible in part through major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. (www.neh.gov)