Slave Badge

In 1764, the Charleston, South Carolina, city council passed a law requiring hired-out enslaved people to wear a badge identifying their trade, skill, identification number, and year. Composed of copper, the geometric tags were either pinned to clothing or worn around the neck. The yearly process of hiring out enslaved skilled labor offers a multi-dimensional glimpse into the economic realm of the institution of enslavement. Not only did hired-out enslaved people wear these badges, but in certain cases, they were also forced to use their metalsmithing skills to make them. These badges embody the sinister work of slavery and the complicated work of Black craftspeople whose labor ensured their continued oppression.