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Broadside Reacting to the Fugitive Slave Act

Caution!! 

Colored people of Boston, one & all, 

You are hereby respectfully cautioned and advised, to avoid conversing with the Watchmen and Police Officers of Boston, 

For since the recent Order of the Mayor & Aldermen, they are empowered to act as

Kidnappers and Slave Catchers,

And they have already been actually employed in Kidnapping, Catching, and Keeping Slaves. Therefore, if you value your Liberty, and the Welfare of the Fugitives among you, Shun them in every possible manner, as so many Hounds on the track of the most unfortunate of your race.

Keep a Sharp Look Out for Kidnappers, and have Top Eye open.

April 24, 1851.

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The Carceral State: Legal Histories of American Unfreedom This teaching module discusses race, the carceral state, and the criminalization of Blackness, featuring a webinar with legal historian Taja-Nia Henderson.