Black Slave Owners in America, An Eye-Opening Exhibit | In-Person Event | June 20, 2026 | 1:00 p.m EST

Before the Civil War, hundreds of thousands of Black Americans lived free legally in the slavery era and were commonly referred to as “free negroes” or “free people of color.”
A small group of them owned slaves. The 1830 census recorded nearly 3,800 Black slave owners of more than 10,000 slaves, primarily in the South, making them about one percent of all slave masters in the U.S.
Many African American slave owners were part of the working-class as shop owners, tailors, masons, mechanics and barbers. But an elite class of Black slave masters also existed, owning large farms in the countryside and thriving businesses in urban areas.
This collection, with the use of rare historical documents, artifacts and photos, examines the lives of Black slave owners, a unique, understudied, class of African Americans.

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