The myth of Blacks as dangerous showed up in slavery, and in the Confederacy, when white supremacy took to horseback. It showed up, too, in Reconstruction's Black Codes, aimed at restricting Black mobility, and in sharecropping, where the slave plantation was reborn. The idea showed up as well during Jim Crow when oppression flowed in segregated water fountains, hotels, bars, and swimming pools. When we resist such efforts, it seems to confirm white fears. Our effort to shake off white obstruction and move forward reinforces the belief that we are dangerous animals in need of policing by white society.
-- Michael Eric Dyson, Long Time Coming, p. 30-31
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