As boatloads of Africans were forcibly enslaved in 1700s America, their labor went beyond harvesting sugar and cotton. There was gold as blue as the sea they crossed, gaining profits that surpassed those two cash crops.
Nicknamed “blue gold" due to its global significance, the dye from indigo plants was used for textiles and many other consumer goods, being a major export for South Carolina during the 18th century. Harvesting this dye was a traditional skill that enslaved West Africans carried with them. But what they left behind was even more valuable than the hue.
African women across the continent excelled at producing indigo dye during the transatlantic slave trade, some accumulating so much wealth that they could challenge local colonial legislation. Smearing an indigo-colored paste on hair also symbolized power.
Today, many Southern homes feature porches painted a pale shade of indigo called haint blue. This Gullah Geechee practice is rooted in West African spirituality and warded off evil spirits or “haints” by painting parts of plantation houses, aiming to protect their community from harm.
While indigo dye doesn’t hold the same economic value it once did, the cultural traditions tied to it are priceless. When we embrace those traditions and unite as a community, we have the Midas touch - transforming our history into a golden source of power.