Ask Us!: Avery Research Center

In Charleston, some enslavers increased their profits by leasing (hiring out) people they enslaved. Enslavers who hired out their enslaved workforce were required to register them with the local government. The Charleston slave badge system ensured that enslaved laborers who were hired out could not pass as free Black people.

Like other colonies, South Carolina included free Black populations. The badge system required free Black people to register their status and wear a free badge. Whether enslaved or free, Black people were under constant surveillance and government regulation.

-From the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sometimes you may want to track down who may have owned a specific badge. Unfortunately, this is usually difficult; the log books kept by the City of Charleston are no longer extant. If you can establish the provenance of a tag that is associated with a property or location, the name of the enslaver associated with that property may be used to locate probate or will records on FamilySearch. Sometimes these include the names of people they enslaved. Another good research resource is the book Slave Badges and the Slave-Hire System in Charleston, SC, by Hutchins and Greene.