The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, acquires,146 rare digitizes largest collection of Charleston Slave Badges

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture has acquired 146 rare Charleston Slave Badges, the largest and most complete set known. It contains one badge for every year between 1800 and 1865, and the only two badges known that were stamped with the name of the enslaved person.

Almost half of all the enslaved Africans shippped to North America landed in South Carolina ports, many of them destined to backbreaking labor on the lowcountry rice plantations. Charleston became one of the richest countries in the world by raking in immense profits from the trade in and use of slave labor.

Some Charleston enslavers looked to amplify their profits by leasing out their enslaved skilled tradesmen. Porters, carpenters, mechanics, fruiters, blacksmiths, masons and more were contracted to work for private individuals and in infrastructure projects for the city with all profits of course going to the enslavers. Established in 1783 to distinguish enslaved people from free Black people, the city instituted a badge system. The leased slaves wore badges stamped with the badge number, the city, “Charleston,” the laborer’s professional and the year. Free Blacks had to register their status and wear badges as well. All badges had to be sewn into their clothing, then renewed yearly by the city clerk.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture acquired the collection in 2022 from Harry S. Hutchins, Jr., who had spent 30 years amassing these rare objects into a uniquely tangible testament to the skills of enslaved people who literally built Charleston. To share the history of these individuals with the world, the museum has digitized the badges and created a Searchable Museum with high-definition photographs of the badges and explanations of their contexts and historical significance.

“We are honored to share the story of enslaved African Americans who contributed to building the nation,” said Mary Elliott, NMAAHC museum curator. “It is a story that involves the juxtaposition of profit and power versus the human cost. The story sheds light on human suffering and the power of the human spirit of skilled craftspeople who held onto their humanity and survived the system of slavery, leaving their mark on the landscape in more ways than one.”

Through this digital offering, visitors can engage with the objects and learn about the legislated system of leased enslaved labor in Charleston, South Carolina, those who profited from the system and how enslaved African Americans navigated the landscape of slavery using their abilities, skills and intellect. In addition to providing the history of Charleston Slave badges, the new Searchable Museum feature will provide insight into collecting, archaeology, the role of vocational training and the meaning of freedom.

Paradox and Promise - A Nation's Story: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a keynote address at an Independence Day celebration and asked, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Douglass was a powerful orator, often traveling six months out of the year to give lectures on abolition. His?speech, given at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was held at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. It was a scathing speech in which Douglass stated, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine, You may rejoice, I must mourn.”

In his speech, Douglass?acknowledged?the Founding Fathers of America, the architects of the Declaration of Independence, for their commitment to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness:”

“Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too, great enough to give frame to a great age. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor their memory.”

Douglass stated that the nation's founders were great men for their ideals of freedom. But?in doing so he brings awareness to the hypocrisy of their ideals by the existence of slavery on American soil. Douglass continues to interrogate the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, to enslaved African Americans experiencing?grave inequality and injustice:?

“Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? and am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?”

I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us.

“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

“Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! Then would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful. For who is there so cold, that a nation’s sympathy could not warm him? Who so obdurate and dead to the claims of gratitude, that would not thankfully acknowledge such priceless benefits? Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nation’s jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? I am not that man. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the 'lame man leap as an hart.'

But such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The ‘What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?’: Descendants Read Frederick Douglass' Speech | NPR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBe5qbnkqoM&t=2s rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.”

-?Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852

This speech is now remembered as one?of Douglass' most poignant. Read the address in full on?PBS .??

‘What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?’: Descendants Read Frederick Douglass' Speech | NPR

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Smithsonian: National Museum of African American History and Culture Acquires Largest Collection of Charleston Slave Badges. New Collection Available To View Online at the Searchable Museum

National Museum of African American History & Culture: Slavery and Freedom in Charleston

National Museum of African American History & Culture: A Nation's Story: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a keynote address at an Independence Day celebration and asked, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Douglass was a powerful orator, often traveling six months out of the year to give lectures on abolition. His speech, given at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was held at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. It was a scathing speech in which Douglass stated, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine, You may rejoice, I must mourn.” In his speech, Douglass acknowledged the Founding Fathers of America, the architects of the Declaration of Independence, for their commitment to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness:”