Black Americans and the Law
The history of American slavery highlights the role of white people in codifying racism into law. The chattel slavery system was race-based, with laws designed to control enslaved people targeting Black people. The Casual Killing Act of 1699, passed in Virginia, made it legal for masters to kill their slaves at will in the process of inflicting punishment. This law distinguished between the punishment of Black enslaved people and White indentured servants, allowing Black people to be killed casually by enslavers without fear of reprisal. This racist blame-the-victim culture attempts to explain away the brutality experienced by Black people and normalize violence. American policing, which punishes non-compliance with brutality or death, dehumanizes Black people and prevents them from resisting the fight-or-flight response. According to Berkeley Law , American jurisprudence and law have profoundly shaped, defined, and constrained the lives of Black people for over 400 years. Racial ineq