While the reality of slavery was harsh on adults, Black children may have been subjected to far worse. For enslaved children, their lives had no meaning at all. If they could work, they had value. If they could not, Black children were discarded.
In many instances, children were fed like pigs because there were no one around to properly take care of them. The young children would often fight for food from a trough, leaving many with small portions and all malnourished, as the food had little to no nutritional value.
However, the horrors do not end there. Because the number of enslaved people a person owned was an indicator of his prosperity, slave owners often forced young children to have sex to increase their wealth. Female children as young as 13 were forced to produce for their masters.
The latest Atlanta Black Star original goes further into the little-known history of child slavery in America.
