The Kidnapping Club

In The Kidnapping Club, historian Jonathan Daniel Wells explores the dark interplay between slavery and capitalism in 19th-century New York City, revealing how a network of judges, lawyers, and police, known as "The New York Kidnapping Club," facilitated the illegal trade of enslaved and free African Americans even after slavery was outlawed. As abolitionists, including Black journalist David Ruggles, fought against this corruption and perilously championed the rights of Black New Yorkers, the narrative brings to light the pervasive influence of institutions connected to the Southern slave trade. This gripping account sheds light on the city's role in perpetuating slavery and highlights the resilience of Black activism in the face of systemic oppression.