Accessibility links
Policing in America : Throughline Black Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. As the trial of Derek Chauvin plays out, it's a truth and a trauma many people in the US and around the world are again witnessing first hand. But this tension between African American communities and the police has existed for centuries. This week, the origins of policing in the United States and how those origins put violent control of Black Americans at the heart of the system.

Throughline

Policing in America

Policing in America

Listen · 1:07:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/985039407/985181837" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
  • A line of policeman take aim.
    A line of policeman take aim.
    Bettmann/Bettmann Archive
  • An African American family leaving Florida during the Great Migration.
    An African American family leaving Florida during the Great Migration.
    MPI/Getty Images
  • National Guardsmen questioning an African American man in Chicago, during the summer race riots of 1919.
    National Guardsmen questioning an African American man in Chicago, during the summer race riots of 1919.
    Jun Fujita/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

1 of 3

Black Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. As the trial of Derek Chauvin plays out, it's a truth and a trauma many people in the US and around the world are again witnessing first hand. But this tension between African American communities and the police has existed for centuries. This week, the origins of policing in the United States and how those origins put violent control of Black Americans at the heart of the system.

If you would like to read more about the topic:

We love to hear from our listeners! Tweet at us @throughlineNPR, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail at (872) 588-8805.