
“Gift Slaves” were enslaved babies or young children taken from their parents and “gifted” as wedding or birthday presents to white family members or friends. The ultimate goal? Indoctrinate the child to institutional slavery.
Caught in a never-ending tragedy, these stolen children lived in the enslaver’s house – but often slept on the floor next to or under their “master’s” bed or in their children’s rooms as “child-minders” to watch them at night. Enslaved children were punished severely if they ran away or failed in their tasks.
These “gifted” children, as young as 3 or 4 years old, were separated from their families and forced to clean, run small errands, and help cook. They later became field workers, forced concubines, or were sold away.
At least one-third of enslaved children in Maryland and Virginia were separated from family “by sale away from parents.” Children could also be bequeathed in a will after a slave master’s death.
This was truly a traumatic, diabolical phenomenon, and enslavers did it to terrorize and dehumanize Black children deliberately. That dehumanization continues today through policing, sexual abuse, and the adultification of our children. How can we ensure a better future for them?