Alligator bait

Illustration of a swampy scene in Florida; three young black children are seated on a log across a small pool of water from an alligator displaying its open mouth. The middle child wears a broad-brimmed hat. In the background are palm trees and a cabin next to open fields. The top of the postcard reads "Alligator Bait, Florida".
Early 20th century postcard depicting black children as "alligator bait"

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 little evidence that children of any race were ever used for this purpose. In American slang, alligator bait is a racial slur for African-Americans.