![](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/NEKYNTZFx6wMkPDJotSdHuO7iSk=/0x58:2880x1558/1200x625/media/img/mt/2024/08/GOP_episode_art_civilrights_full/original.jpg)
The Rights of American Slaves
There’s a traditional narrative about the history of Black people and the law. It describes how slaves were entirely shut out of the legal system, disenfranchised and bereft of even a modicum of legal know-how or protection. The UC Berkeley professor Dylan …