Depicting African-American children as alligator bait was a common trope in American popular culture in the 19th and 20th centuries. The motif was present in a wide array of media, including newspaper reports, songs, sheet music, and visual art. There is an urban legend claiming that black children or infants were in fact used as bait to lure alligators, although there is no meaningful evidence that children of any race were ever used for this purpose. In American slang, alligator bait is a racial slur for African-Americans.
Early 20th century postcard depicting black children as "alligator bait"
"Topics: Racism, ethnic wit and humor, 1898-1920" (National Museum of American History)
Have you met the Florida Gator? He is the champion negro hater; this postcard image and lyric first appeared in the 1930s (Florida International University Libraries)
Alligator bait postcard from Quincy, Florida, 1909
Pickaninny is a pidgin word for a small child, possibly derived from the Portuguese pequenino. It has been used as a racial slur for African American children and a pejorative term for Aboriginal children of the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. It can also refer to a derogatory caricature of a dark-skinned child of African descent.
Postcard titled "Six Little Pickaninnies" (Detroit Publishing, 1902)
Postcard depicting eight black children, titled "Eight Little Pickaninnies Kneeling in a row, Puerto Rico", published in 1902 or 1903.
In Papua New Guinea, pikinini is the word for 'child'. Here local children are seen at Buk bilong Pikinini ('Books for Children') in Port Moresby, an independent not-for-profit organization.
Reproduction of a tin sign from 1922 advertising Picaninny Freeze, a frozen treat
