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This series examining the history of black people in the United States isn’t one in which the usual writings focusing on slavery, the civil rights movement, and the present state of black America. Rather, it will put a lens on subject matter that is often unknown and rarely talked about, from how the North benefitted from slavery to the creation of the ghetto to alleged government involvement with the transportation of drugs into the black community. While the story of black people in the US is viewed generally as one of struggle, however it is also one of rebellions and uprisings against unjust conditions. In many ways, it is a story of resistance and hope against seemingly indomitable odds.

Don't miss reading the previous part: "War Of Drugs"

In order to talk about police militarization, what first must be examined is the history of the police as an institution and its racist roots.

During Colonial America, there were serious racial and ethnic conflicts across the country. Small watch groups had been formed in an attempt to combat crime, but this proved to be ineffective due to the changing social climate and more formalized institutions began to come into existence. In the South, slave patrols were relied upon to keep order and “manage the race-based conflict occurring in the southern region of Colonial America” with “the specific intent of maintaining control over slave populations” [1] and later White indentured servants.

This situation continued until after the Civil War, when the entire social, economic, and political order of the South had gone completely to shambles. It was during Reconstruction that “several groups [such as the Ku Klux Kan, state militias, and former Confederate soldiers] merged with what was formerly known as slave patrols to maintain control over African American citizens” and as time went on, this conglomerate “began to resemble and operate similar to some of the newly established police departments in the United States. In fact […] by 1837, the Charleston Police Department had 100 officers and the primary function of this organization was slave patrol.” [2] The creation of police in the North was also rooted in racism as “Indian Constables [were created] to police Native Americans [and] the St. Louis police were founded to protect residents from Native Americans in that frontier city.” [3] So, we can see that the creation of the police in the US is mainly due to racism.

The use of the police as a control mechanism against blacks can be seen during the Civil Rights Movement as well. While the Movement was going on, the police were still “killing eight times as many Blacks as whites” and as the momentum built and interracial alliances between blacks and other groups formed not only did “police and white citizens re-enacted the same violence once used against abolitionists to maintain the color line” [4] but on a systemic level, the role of the police as a tool against black insurrection once again became the purpose of police.

The tools that the police used to wage war against poor communities of color would change with the war on drugs. In 1988, a defense funding bill passed which “rewrote significant portions of federal law on the relationship between the military and local LEAs by specifying an active role for the military in the so-called ‘War on Drugs’” with the law itself building upon legislation passed in 1981 which allowed for the military “to provide temporary assistance in support law enforcement in drug interdiction, immigration control, or customs on a case-by-case basis.” [5] In 1989, Congress passed a second bill, the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years (NDAA) 1990 and 1991, which created program 1033 and allowed the Pentagon transfer military-grade equipment to police engaging in counter-drug activities. Originally set to expire in 1992, the bill was renewed in subsequent defense spending legislation until 1996 when the NDAA for fiscal year 1997 was passed and the 1033 program made permanent.

Police militarization hadn’t really been reported on or for the most part known about until 2014, when Michael Brown was gunned down by officer Darren Wilson. In the ensuing protests and riots, the militarized police were bought out in force to ‘handle’ the protesters. The new face of American police was shown for not only the country, but the world at large to see. It was from this incident that the Black Lives Matter movement has sprung up, fighting against police brutality and demanding police accountability. While there has been much criticism of Black Lives Matter, such as them being blamed for the death of police officers [6], there has also been major support for the activists.

Interestingly enough, though, the current Obama administration has been quite strange with regards to the issue of police brutality. On one hand, President Obama came out in support of the movement in October 2015 [7] but earlier that year, in May, he signed “into law a measure that will require instant nationwide ‘Blue Alerts’ to warn about threats to police officers and help track down the suspects who carry them out.” [8] This latter move essentially shows whose side Obama is on. It isn’t police that are getting violently gunned down every day as not only is the occupation of police officer not even in the top ten for most dangerous jobs [9], but also “policing has been getting safer for 20 years.” [10] So for him to sign into law a bill which creates what is an effective Amber Alert for police officers while so many times remaining silent on the fact that so many are gunning down unarmed civilians, it effectively shows where he stands.

While the police were (and still are) engaging black communities in the 1980 and ‘90s, problems were about to get much worse for black people when Bill Clinton came into office with his welfare reform and NAFTA plans.

Read the next part: "U.S. administrations failed Black Americans even under Obama's Presidency"

Refrences:

[1] Sage Publications, The History of Policing, http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/50819_ch_1.pdf, pg 4

[2] Ibid, pg 5

[3] Victor E. Kappeler, A Brief History of Slavery and the Origins of American Policing, Eastern Kentucky University Police Studies Online, http://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/brief-history-slavery-and-origins-american-policing

[4] Ben Brucato, “Fabricating the Color Line in a White Democracy: From Slave Catchers to Petty Sovereigns,” Theoria 61:4 (December 2014), pg 41

[5] Raymond J. Dezzani, Lanny McAden, Steven M. Radil, The Road To Ferguson: Geographies of US Police Militarization and the Role of the 1033 Program, Research Gate, (August 14, 2015), pg 8

[6] Jessica Lussenhop, “How Black Lives Matter was blamed for killing of US police officers,” BBC, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34135267 (September 14, 2015)

[7] Darlene Superville, “Obama defends Black Lives Matter movement,” Associated Press, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/obama-defends-black-lives-matter-movement/ (October 23, 2015)

[8] Gregory Korte, “Obama signs ‘Blue Alert’ law to protect police,” USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/05/19/obama-blue-alert-law-bill-signing/27578911/ (May 19, 2015)

[9] Banrate.com, 10 of the Most Dangerous Jobs in the US, http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/10-most-dangerous-jobs-us-2.aspx

[10] Radley Balko, “Once again: Police Work is NOT Getting More Dangerous,” Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/10/02/once-again-police-work-is-not-getting-more-dangerous/ (October 2, 2014)