Delaware, a small state geographically, occupies an outsized place in the American story of slavery, racial capitalism, and the enduring legacy of the slavery industrial complex. Despite its northern border and proximity to free states, Delaware was a slave state that clung tightly to the institution of slavery long after others had begun to move toward abolition. Its position between the North and South gave it a unique and complex relationship to slavery, making it both a site of bondage and a passageway to freedom. Yet even after the formal abolition of slavery, Delaware continued to uphold systems of racial subjugation, creating structures that allowed white institutions and corporations to benefit economically from the labor and exploitation of Black people. This legacy endures in the present day, as corporate and governmental wealth continues to be undergirded by the profits of human suffering and systemic inequality rooted in centuries of slavery.

 

The history of slavery in Delaware begins in the early 1600s when Dutch and Swedish settlers first arrived. Enslaved Africans were brought into the region to labor on farms and in households. When the English took control of the territory in the mid-17th century, they formalized slavery under British colonial rule. Delaware’s mild climate and fertile soil made it suitable for small-scale agriculture, and enslaved Africans were used primarily for tobacco, grain, and dairy farming. Though Delaware never developed the plantation economy of the Deep South, slavery was deeply ingrained in its social and economic fabric. Most slaveholders owned only a few enslaved people, which created an environment where Black people lived in close proximity to white families, often enduring constant surveillance and intimate forms of domination.

 

Despite Delaware's relatively small enslaved population compared to states like Virginia or South Carolina, the psychological and material impacts of slavery were no less severe. Enslaved people in Delaware were treated as property, denied education, and subjected to violence and family separation. Laws codified racial inequality, making it illegal for enslaved people to learn to read or write, travel without permission, or testify against white people in court. Even as abolitionist sentiment grew in surrounding states, Delaware doubled down on its commitment to slavery. By the time of the American Revolution, thousands of enslaved people lived in Delaware, laboring in homes, fields, and shipyards. Many white residents feared the economic consequences of emancipation, which they believed would undermine their livelihoods and social status.

 

 

After the Revolution, Delaware began a slow and uneven path toward the reduction of slavery, but it never passed a general emancipation law. Instead, manumission was left to the discretion of individual slaveholders. This approach ensured that slavery persisted well into the 19th century, even as Delaware’s free Black population grew. By 1860, on the eve of the Civil War, Delaware had more free Black people than enslaved ones, yet it refused to join the abolitionist cause. The state rejected the Thirteenth Amendment when it was first proposed, symbolizing its reluctance to let go of slavery even as the rest of the nation moved toward abolition. Delaware did not officially ratify the amendment until 1901, decades after the end of the Civil War.

 

The persistence of slavery in Delaware was economically and ideologically motivated. White landowners and merchants depended on the labor of Black people to sustain their wealth and status. The proximity to free states created a constant threat of escape, prompting harsher laws and more aggressive policing of Black bodies. Delaware became a key node in the network of slave catchers, with many local authorities collaborating with Southern owners to capture and return escapees. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 further empowered Delawareans to participate in this brutal system, enriching those who assisted in the capture and sale of fugitives. The Underground Railroad passed through Delaware, and though many residents aided escapees, others exploited the system for personal gain, turning in fugitives for profit or using the threat of capture to control local Black populations.

 

After the formal end of slavery, Delaware did not dismantle the racial hierarchy it had built. Instead, it replaced slavery with new forms of racial control. Black Codes, disenfranchisement, and economic exclusion became the tools of white supremacy. Black Delawareans were denied the right to vote, access to quality education, and the opportunity to own land or start businesses on equal footing. Labor markets remained segregated, and Black workers were confined to the most menial and dangerous jobs, often for substandard wages. Corporations and businesses in Delaware thrived on this racialized labor system, extracting value from Black communities while denying them access to the wealth they helped create.

 

The chemical giant DuPont, founded in Delaware in 1802, offers a striking example of how corporate power in the state has been built on systems of exploitation. While DuPont did not directly traffic in enslaved people, it benefited from a labor economy shaped by slavery and racial exclusion. The company’s early fortunes were tied to the production of gunpowder, which was used in military conflicts, including those that upheld slavery. Later, DuPont expanded into chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and energy, becoming one of the most powerful corporations in the United States. Its factories employed thousands of workers, but labor conditions were often exploitative, particularly for Black workers, who were relegated to the lowest-paying and most dangerous positions. These practices mirrored the dynamics of slavery, maintaining a racialized division of labor that concentrated wealth and power in white hands.

 

In the 20th century, as the Great Migration brought more African Americans to northern states, Delaware became both a destination and a battleground. Black families seeking better opportunities often found themselves confined to segregated neighborhoods, barred from homeownership through redlining and discriminatory lending practices. Banks and real estate companies systematically devalued Black communities, while government policies reinforced segregation through highway construction and public housing placement. These structures were not accidental but were designed to preserve white wealth and privilege, directly tracing their origins to the systems of property and racial control established during slavery. White corporations continued to profit from these arrangements by selling homes, goods, and services at inflated prices to marginalized communities while investing heavily in white suburbs.

 

The public education system in Delaware also mirrored this racial divide. Black students were routinely sent to underfunded and overcrowded schools, while white students enjoyed modern facilities and well-paid teachers. Efforts to desegregate schools in Delaware met fierce resistance. The state was part of the legal landscape that led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, as several Delaware cases were bundled into the Supreme Court ruling. Yet even after the court's mandate, Delaware delayed and undermined integration efforts, demonstrating its reluctance to relinquish the racial privileges institutionalized during slavery. The unequal education system ensured that Black children would remain economically disadvantaged, reinforcing the cycle of poverty and limited opportunity that had begun under slavery.

 

 

Delaware’s prison system is a contemporary manifestation of the slavery industrial complex. Black residents are incarcerated at disproportionate rates, often for nonviolent offenses, and once imprisoned, they are subjected to forced labor under the guise of rehabilitation. Incarcerated individuals in Delaware perform essential work for the state, including maintenance, food service, and manufacturing, yet receive little or no compensation. This system perpetuates the logic of slavery, where Black bodies are used to generate value for the state and private entities without fair remuneration. Corporations that contract with the prison system or benefit from the cheap goods and services it provides are complicit in this modern form of slavery.

 

Healthcare disparities also reflect the legacy of slavery in Delaware. Black residents suffer from higher rates of chronic illness, lower life expectancy, and limited access to quality care. These outcomes are the result of centuries of medical neglect, experimentation, and discrimination. The healthcare industry, including hospitals and insurance providers, profits from a system that delivers inadequate care to Black communities while charging them more for inferior services. Pharmaceutical companies, some of which operate in Delaware, have historically used Black populations for clinical trials without consent or benefit, echoing the exploitation of enslaved people in medical experiments. The mistrust that many Black Delawareans feel toward the healthcare system is not irrational; it is rooted in a long history of abuse and neglect.

 

Financial institutions in Delaware have also played a role in perpetuating economic inequality. The state’s favorable corporate laws have made it a haven for banking and credit card companies, many of which have been accused of predatory practices that disproportionately target Black and low-income consumers. High interest rates, hidden fees, and discriminatory lending practices have trapped many families in cycles of debt and financial instability. These practices mirror the economic bondage of slavery, where Black people were denied the ability to accumulate wealth and forced to labor for the benefit of others. The profits generated by these financial institutions are often reinvested in white communities, further exacerbating the racial wealth gap.

 

Today, the effects of slavery are visible in every corner of Delaware society. From housing and education to employment and healthcare, the structures built during the era of slavery continue to shape outcomes for Black residents. White corporations and families continue to benefit from the intergenerational wealth created through exploitation, while Black communities struggle with the compounded effects of exclusion and dispossession. The wealth accumulated through slavery has not been redistributed, and the institutions that profited from it have not been held accountable.

 

 

Efforts to address this legacy through reparations or systemic reform have been slow and often symbolic. Public acknowledgments of slavery’s impact are necessary but insufficient. True justice requires material reparations, including financial compensation, investment in Black communities, and the dismantling of systems that continue to exploit and marginalize. This includes ending prison labor, reforming the criminal justice system, ensuring equitable access to healthcare and education, and creating pathways for Black ownership and wealth accumulation. The conversation about reparations must be grounded in the recognition that slavery was not a Southern phenomenon alone but a national crime in which Delaware was deeply complicit.

 

Delaware’s history offers a microcosm of the American experience with slavery and its aftermath. It reveals the ways in which the North was not only complicit in slavery but also benefited immensely from it, through commerce, finance, education, and industry. The state’s resistance to abolition, its embrace of racial segregation, and its modern systems of exploitation all demonstrate that the slavery industrial complex is not a relic of the past but a living system that continues to shape the present. The challenge for Delaware, and for the nation as a whole, is to confront this history with honesty and to take bold steps toward justice and equity. Until that reckoning occurs, the legacy of slavery will continue to haunt every institution that profited from it, and the promise of freedom will remain unfulfilled for millions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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