The Black Belt is a name given to the south-eastern region of the United States that had a large amount of slaves prior to the Civil War. The region extends from southwest Tennesse to east-central Mississippi and then east through Alabama to the border with Georgia. After the invention of the cotton gin, the demand for slaves rose greatly in the south. In the domestic slave trade system, many slaves were transported from the nothern-south down to this region in particular. The name Black Belt may also partially be refering to the black and fertile soil of the region.

Esther Cheng

 Source:  http://www.alblackbeltheritage.com/instance_download.php?document=108