Alligator bait

Depicting African-American children or infants as alligator bait was a common trope in American popular culture in the 19th and 20th centuries. Images of African-American children or infants being hunted by or used to lure alligators ("gators") was widespread in North American white popular culture during the 19th and 20th centuries. The motif was present in diverse forms of media, including newspaper reports, songs, sheet music, and visual art, often appearing in conjunction with other racist tropes. A subtype of the pickaninny caricature, such images portrayed Black children as unlovable, disposable, and prey for predators. They were widely published in various media and forms from the late 19th century into the mid-20th century. They have been interpreted as expressions of a violent, dehumanizing attitude in which the endangerment and death of Black children and Black people in general was downplayed as a minor matter or implicitly even advertised as desirable. The supposed actual use of Black children as bait in alligator hunting is repeatedly mentioned in primary sources, especially newspaper and magazine articles published between the 1880s and 1920s. But since most of them are vague and possibly jocular, their reliability is disputed. Historians and fact-checking website Snopes found no solid evidence that the practice was real, dismissing these accounts as rumors or racist tall tales. Other authors argue that due to their sheer number as well as details found in some of them, these accounts cannot be summarily dismissed as fabricated; instead, they contend some reflect a real, though likely not widespread, practice. In American slang, alligator bait or gator bait is a racial slur for African Americans, implying they are worthless and expendable. This derogatory expression likely dates back to before the Civil War. Its racial connotations persist into the 21st century, prompting institutions like the University of...