It was the 1800s, and Black children were coming up missing all along the East coast of the U.S.A. But this was more than a few kidnapping cases – white people were behind this disturbing trend!
Why on Earth were they STEALING Black children?
For profit! Importing Africans for enslavement had become illegal by then, but the Fugitive Slave Act meant white people had free reign to capture Black people under the law and lie that they were escaped slaves.
Greedy white people saw the opportunity to kidnap Black children and sell them into enslavement! And how they did this is outrageous.
White lawyers, judges, police, and others formed “kidnapping clubs” to steal Black children from their families to sell into enslavement. They even murdered, beat, or tricked parents into giving their children to kidnappers.
But all was not lost!
Of course our people were not about to let this go down without a fight. Outraged, we organized, protested, and showed up in courtrooms along the East coast – until kidnapping clubs went extinct.
Black children have always been valuable, and our actions in protecting them from greedy white people remind us of this important point. Black children – our precious future – must be protected by any means necessary!