Birdwatch Note Rating
2023-08-17 10:58:26 UTC - HELPFUL
Rated by Participant: 0FB39498B9FADB19D2F54399A601EDE93AD6706A7E58C5FD3DCA128B422D4BED
Participant Details
Original Note:
These are "dirt eater masks". Slave owners forced slaves to wear it to stop them from eating dirt. Geophagy, pica or dirt eating is caused due to diet deficiency. Slave owners believed that putting a mask on the slaves would stop them from eating dirt and getting sick. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/13/us/southern-practice-of-eating-dirt-shows-signs-of-waning.html https://thewildpeak.wordpress.com/2015/07/12/dirt-eating-slaves-and-impressed-sailors/ https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/04/02/297881388/the-old-and-mysterious-practice-of-eating-dirt-revealed
All Note Details