Policing Slavery & Black Rebellion in the American South

Enslaved Africans were forcibly shipped to Virginia starting in 1619 in response to a severe labor shortage. From the beginning, enslaved laborers resisted by fleeing and through violence, and white enslavers reacted by creating a racialized system of brutal policing, granting themselves authority based on skin color and a sense of superiority. Joining me in this episode is Dr. Gautham Rao , Associate Professor of History at American University in Washington, D.C., and author of White Power: Policing American Slavery . Our theme song is “ Frogs Legs Rag ,” composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “ Good News ,” performed by Tuskegee Institute Singers on August 31, 1914; the audio is in the public domain and is available through the Library of Congress National Jukebox. The episode image is “ The Effects of the Proclamation ,” Harper's Weekly. Vol. 7, no. 321. February 21, 1863. p. 116; the image is in the public domain and is available via Wikimedia Commons. Additional Sources: Proceedings and Acts of the [Maryland] General Assembly January 1637/8-September 1664 , Volume 1, Page 107. Proceedings and Acts of th…