The lasting legacy of the slave patrols

This message comes from Mint Mobile. Starting at $15 a month, make the switch at mintmobile.com/switch. $45 upfront payment for three months. Five gigabyte plan equivalent to $15 a month. Taxes and fees extra. First three months only. See terms. Hey. It's Rend. Before we get started, we wanna give you a heads up that this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and racism. This is America in Pursuit, a limited run series from THROUGHLINE and NPR. Each week, we bring you stories about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in The United States Of America that began two hundred fifty years ago this year. And today we're bringing you the story of how those words, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, weren't exactly intended for everybody. The United States was born as one of the most inegalitarian societies in the world. The constitution was written by and for a very specific set of people, landowning white men. Everybody else, women, Native Americans already living in what would become The United States, and black Americans, whether free or enslaved, were not a part of that vision. And even though founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson, who let's be real, owned enslaved black people himself, fought to eliminate slavery in the enslaved black people himself, fought to eliminate slavery in the constitution, they failed. Slavery was just too divisive and too lucrative, a foundation of the colonial economy. And according to Kahlil Gibran Muhammad, professor of African American studies and public affairs at Princeton University and author of The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime and the Making of Modern Urban America, white supremacy was built into the nation's psyche long before the declaration of independence. 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. This is the story of how the creation of white led slave patrols to control the comings and goings of enslaved black people laid the groundwork for America's racial hierarchies in ways that we continue to grapple with today. That's coming up after a quick break. This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps. Be smart. Get wise. Download the Wyze app today or visit wise.com. T's and c's apply. This message comes from Mint Mobile. This holiday season, stop overpaying for wireless and switch to Mint. Shop 50% off unlimited plans at mintmobile.com/switch. Limited time offer. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for twelve months. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Above 35 gigabytes, network may slow when busy. Capable device required. Availability, speed, and coverage varies. See mintmobile.com. Slave patrols, groups of white men empowered …