Enduring Consequences of Dehumanizing Institutions: Slavery and Contemporary Minority Social Control in the U.S. Northeast and South.

This article examines the enduring legacy of slavery on contemporary policing practices in both Southern and Northeastern U.S. counties, challenging the narrative of "Southern exceptionalism" by demonstrating that slavery's influence extends beyond the South. Using quantitative analysis, it finds that areas with greater historical slave dependence exhibit higher rates of police underreporting of hate crimes, particularly those targeting Black populations, with contemporary Black population concentration mediating this relationship in both regions. The study also reveals spillover effects to Latino populations, especially in the South, indicating that slavery's discriminatory consequences affect multiple racialized minority groups. These findings highlight the role of historical institutions of social control, notably law enforcement, in perpetuating racial inequalities and suggest that addressing systemic racism requires attention to slavery's broad and persistent impact across regions.