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Last night's debate touched on #TheTalk and how Black folks experience policing in America. The folks we organize with know this talk well, and we wanted to shed some light on the history of policing that's made "The Talk" so common. #Thread
Policing hasn't always existed, but it is very old. As colonizers expanded their reach across America, militias were empowered to violently dispossess indigenous peoples from their lands
Later, patrols were utilized to monitor and control the movement of Black people who were enslaved. After slavery was abolished (13th amendment notwithstanding) the practice of monitoring and controlling Black folks movement and actions has continued to this day.
Police were utilized to suppress organized labor as unions grew more popular and powerful.
This long, violent history is why our coalition rejects the idea that police can be reformed. The police are not broken. They are serving the purposes they've always had - to suppress organized movements, to fill prisons, and to monitor and control Black communities.
