The remarkable history of the Edisto Island Slave Cabin comes to life as we trace its journey from South Carolina to the brand new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. | AARP

Branded Like Property: The Brutal Marking of Black Bodies in American Slavery 💔 During American slavery, enslaved Africans were often branded with hot irons, marked like cattle to prove ownership. Their skin was burned with initials and symbols that erased their names, their homelands, and their identities. This was not punishment—this was a message: you are property, not a person. Branding was a permanent scar, a reminder that Black bodies were treated as merchandise, inspected, traded, and so