Am I Not a Man and a Brother?

The Wedgwood anti-slavery medallion was an abolitionist symbol produced and distributed by British potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood in 1787 as a seal for the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. The medallion depicts a kneeling Black man in chains with his hands raised to the heavens; it is inscribed with the phrase "Am I not a man and a brother?" The figure was likely designed and modeled by Henry Webber and William Hackwood with Wedgwood's involvement. The medallion was produced as a jasperware cameo by Wedgwood's factory—the Etruria Works— and widely distributed in Britain and the United States. These cameos were worn as pendants, inlaid in snuff boxes, and used to adorn bracelets and hair pins, rapidly becoming fashionable symbols of the British abolition movement. The medallion helped to further the abolitionist cause and is today accepted as "the most recognizable piece of antislavery paraphernalia the movement ever produced." Origin On July 5, 1787, the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade resolved to develop a recognizable seal for their cause. The Society solicited the help of prominent British potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood. On October 16, 1787 a design by Henry Webber was presented to a committee of the Society. According to Mary Guyatt, and "it is fair to suggest that [Wedgwood] would have had some influence over the eventual design" given his personal involvement in the project. Webber's design depicted a Black male slave in a kneeling posture accompanied by the motto "Am I not a man and a brother?" The motif was adapted from a print design into sculpture, likely by William Hackwood. Interpretation The enslaved man's kneeling position and raised hands are often understood as a reference to supplication, marking him as a Christian appealing to Heaven. Accompanied by an English plea, the depicted man communicates that he is a Westernized figure who shares both a language and faith with a white British or American audience.