R.I.P #BuffaloSaints~ NY state abolished slavery in 1827, but Black people remained in danger of enslavement & kidnappings. In 1835, to fight back, Black abolitionist David Ruggles helped to found the N.Y. Committee of Vigilance an hybrid of the Black Panther Party & The NAACP. ******** New York state abolished slavery within its borders in 1827, but Black New Yorkers remained in danger of enslavement or re-enslavement through widespread kidnappings. Black sailors would go missing from ports. Children would disappear on their way home from school People held in New York City’s municipal prison cells would find themselves sold to traders by unscrupulous cops. On November 20, 1835, to fight back against the onslaught of oppression, Black abolitionist and businessman David Ruggles helped to found the New York Committee of Vigilance (NYCV), a multi-racial organization a hybrid of the Black Panther Party and The NAACP, would defend Black New Yorkers from predatory whites. He published a list of Northern actors who he believed participated in the kidnapping of free Blacks. He assisted fugitives to safety and guided them on to points North or to freedom in Canada. This work would not have been possible without the efforts of the Black community on the ground level. The unnamed men and women passed along intelligence, fed, clothed, and helped to shelter fugitives. They also reached into their shallow pockets to financially support the movement. The NYCV depended suspicious activities and people. It “inspired the creation of similar groups in Philadelphia, Albany, Boston, Rochester, Cleveland, Detroit, and elsewhere, all bent on helping African Americans to flee from and resist slavery.” https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/new-york-committee-vigilance-ruggles/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd05nnCuGG-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
