Yes, there were black slave owners in the history of the United States. While the vast majority of slave owners were white, there was a small number of free black people who owned slaves. For example, William Ellison Jr., a former African-American slave who became a successful cotton gin maker and planter in South Carolina, owned as many as 171 black slaves. By 1830, there were about 3,775 free black slaveholders in the South who owned around 12,100 slaves. These black slave owners were often free people of mixed race and lived mostly in cities like New Orleans and Charleston. Some black slave owners purchased slaves for economic gain, while others owned slaves to protect family members from being sold to other owners. The phenomenon of black slave ownership is complex and historically controversial, with motivations ranging from economic advancement to family protection.