In many ways, the slave patrols, and later law enforcement, were the instruments of the state used to protect the theft of Black life and of the rights and privileges of full citizenship. The police not only brutalized Black bodies but dented the armor of social equality and civil rights by threatening the physical safety, civic well-being, and political progress of Black culture. If the state stole, the police protected its theft and discouraged rebellion against its unjust practices. There is no greater sign of such efforts at ruthless containment as when the police flood the streets to meet and turn back Black bodies on the march for justice.
-- Michael Eric Dyson, Long Time Coming, p. 113-114
No comments:
Post a Comment