Protect and Serve Who??!! pt.1

In this column I hope to trace some of the history of policing in America, so that communities of color can better understand the way that the White power structure thinks, and how they use police to "control" us. Unless we start to get at the roots of these problems, I don’t think we stand a chance of real reform. During the era of slavery in this country, patterrollers (also known as patrollers and slave patrols), or "slave catchers," were White men who served on local patrols organized throughout the South to control the movement of slaves outside their home plantations. Patrollers policed their neighborhoods by challenging any slave whom they suspected of being away from home to produce a written "pass," or authorization, from his or her master.

Slaves found without a pass were subject to arrests, beatings, or other forms of violence, some of which led to death. The average White citizen was expected to do their part in the effort to control slaves by informing on them and generally assisting the patrollers when requested.

Soon, "slave codes" (laws that regulated the behavior of slaves) were enacted. Among other acts, the codes prohibited slaves from gathering in groups, possessing weapons, leaving the plantations without passes, resisting punishment, and striking a White person. The slave patrols’ job was to enforce these slave codes.

By 1750, every Southern colony had a slave patrol. Slave patrols were the first truly American police system. In the South, policing was closely related to slavery and organized and operated as paramilitary organizations. Patrols provided a source of comfort and confidence for Whites in Southern society’s ability to safely and effectively continue its reliance on the institution of slavery. Whites also relied on the slave patrols to help them feel "safe" from the "wild" immigrants from Africa.

The point of establishing slave patrols was to maintain White supremacy and privilege. Patrollers had specific "beats," and were given the authority to stop, search, whip, maim, and even kill any slave who violated the slave codes. Although urban patrollers sometimes had additional duties, patrollers generally had three principal duties: searching slave quarters, dispersing slave gatherings, and safeguarding communities by patrolling the roads.

Unfortunately, most Minneapolis police still see this as their role.

It is not difficult to see the parallels between the slave patrols and modern-day Minneapolis police (and police in general, but here I will focus on Minneapolis). Let’s compare.

Patrollers stopped slaves upon suspicion that they were off their plantation. Minneapolis police stop Blacks and others of color to ask why they are in a certain neighborhood or why they are walking or just standing somewhere. (Haven’t you heard that Blacks get hassled by police even for standing at a bus stop?)

Slave codes prohibited slaves from gathering in groups. Blacks congregating in groups seem to be one of the chief irritations of Minneapolis police. Even if Blacks are peacefully congregated, Minneapolis police feel justified in rushing them, beating them, and arresting them. Many police officers still think that they have been given the authority by the White power structure to beat and maim Blacks who are "off the plantation." Have they been given this authority?

Slave codes outlawed the possession of weapons by Blacks. Today, with the help of the media (which for many years had the agenda of scaring us with pictures and stories of "violent" Black men, while all the time the Enron executives were looting pension funds of multi-millions), police and prosecutors go after Black men with guns with a vengeance. Just say the word "gun" in a criminal prosecution against a Black man, and he is going down. Yet meanwhile, the state legislature passed a law allowing Whites throughout the state to carry concealed weapons.

Slave codes outlawed Blacks "resisting punishment." This is like our modern-day criminal statute called "obstructing legal process." Some call it "obstructing justice," but "resisting punishment" is really a better word, even for the modern-day law. Because usually the obstructing charge results from a Black man who was first beaten by police.

What, Blacks are just supposed to take this--take our "punishment" for being Black? This Minnesota criminal code allows police to merely allege that someone struggled while being arrested (even make claims like "he went limp," even if the Black man went limp to try to avoid a charge of obstructing) and send a Black man all the way through the criminal process and likely to jail.