#slave patrols

[itsmythang]

On February 2, 1909, white police officers in Pittsburgh fanned out across a working-class neighborhood called “the Hill” and arrested any Black man who could not provide proof of employment.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

'I see slave patrols': ​Jasmine Crockett warns Supreme Court just set dangerous precedent

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said she was reminded of the history of "slave patrols" after conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court gave Immi

David Edwards at Raw Story:

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said she was reminded of the history of "slave patrols" after conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents the ability to target people based on their ethnicity. During a Sunday interview on MSNBC, Crockett criticized President Donald Trump's crime-fighting strategy. [...] "But as somebody who understands history, when I see ICE, I see slave patrols," she continued. "But if you know the history of policing in this country, then you understand that they were born out of slave patrols." "And now with the Supreme Court saying this, it's almost like you can just go grab them up. And that is a problem. We all should have a problem with that."

Appearing on MSNBC’s Velshi Sunday, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) likened the recent SCOTUS ruling that permitted ICE agents to conduct racial profiling to “slave patrols.”

From the 09.14.2025 edition of MSNBC's Velshi:

[race-bait]

JASMINE IS 100 PERCENT RIGHT!

[blackblaze]

[queenie435]

[rosarenn]

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the way slave patrols functioned is that they were explicit in their design to empower the entire white population, not just with police power but with the duty to police the comings and goings and movements of black people

Khalil Gibran Mohammad from NPR Throughline: “American Police”

[pettypendagrass]

Vigilantism is American law enforcement

Through U.S. history, the distinctions between vigilantism and lawful arrest and punishment have always been murky. Frequently, vigilantism has been used not in opposition to police efforts, but rather with their active encouragement. Indeed, in some recent protests that still seems to be the case.

Before police departments existed, arrests were made under traditional common law, which depended on private participation in legally organized posses and serving as deputies. Institutions like slave patrols required that non-slave owners were willing to use, or at least permit, violence to maintain white supremacy. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, private detectives and security guards also possessed powers of arrest similar to those of police officers.

Vigilantism, again in the news, is an American tradition

For many Americans, law and order has long been as much a private matter as something for the government to handle.

[itsmythang]

ICE isn't the gestapo––it's deeply American. Recognizing our country's flaws and how history has brought us here will help us move forward. Once we do that, we need to bring that same energy to build what we know can be a better world that reflects our values.