Every year on the day after the American holiday of Thanksgiving, millions of shoppers head to the stores to take advantage of cut-price deals offered by retailers. The day has become known as Black Friday, but the origin of the name has recently become the focus of viral social media images.

I first noticed an image referring to the origins of the Black Friday name in 2013, as it began to circulate on social media. This image showed an image of a slave market, accompanied by text that claimed the name came from the practice of slave traders selling slaves ...