June 19, 2024

Rally against legalized slavery.

Take Action

• Learn more about how the 13th Amendment created legal slavery through incarceration.

• Follow America on Trial, Inc. (AOT), which empowers those affected by incarceration and police brutality, advocating for incarcerated workers' rights, fair wages, improved working conditions, police accountability, and our #AIRS Campaign.

• Contact your representatives in Congress and urge them to support and sign on to H.J.Res.72

Get Educated

It's contradictory to celebrate Juneteenth as a federal holiday while still allowing a constitutional provision that permits slavery for individuals convicted of crimes in the United States. As someone who has experienced enforced labor within New York State Prisons, I question whether Congress is prepared to prioritize ending legal slavery in prisons and jails. Given the current threats to democracy, it's crucial to address the "slavery loophole" in the 13th Amendment and abolish legalized slavery to promote fairness and inclusivity in our democratic system.

Despite the common belief that slavery ended long ago, a loophole in the 13th Amendment allows for its continuation in the form of forced labor for incarcerated individuals. This exception permits slavery as punishment for crime, denying constitutional protection to those in prison. Thus, slavery persists, albeit in a reformed guise, linking America's history with slavery to its present reality.

According to a 2022 ACLU report, over 800,000 incarcerated individuals are forced to work, facing consequences like solitary confinement or loss of privileges if they refuse. They seek work environments for skill development but should also be paid fair wages. Support for unionization and minimum wage can combat forced labor's legacy. On average, detainees in state prisons earn about $0.65 an hour, with some making as little as $0.16 an hour and others earning nothing. These wages are insufficient for incarcerated individuals to support themselves within the correctional system or save for their release. In roughly 90 percent of states, formal policies provide "gate money" to cover transportation, housing, or food costs for released detainees. Among the more generous states, California and Colorado offer $200 and $100, respectively, as reported by The Marshall Project. However, gate money still falls short of adequately supporting individuals reintegrating into society. Implementing novel approaches to labor conditions in prison could significantly impact recidivism rates.

Upcoming Workshops

As the Executive Director of America On Trial Inc., we frequently engage with formerly incarcerated individuals, including those who have been incarcerated multiple times. A significant factor in their reincarceration is the lack of workforce development and financial support upon release. America's recidivism rate would be lower if people weren't forced or coerced to work while imprisoned. Even when prisons offer training or certification programs, there are often issues. Sometimes, the certifications provided are not current with those required in the outside world. Consequently, many formerly incarcerated individuals attend job interviews under-certified and unaware of current workplace practices.

In addition to creating federal, statewide, and local policies to support incarcerated workers, we should also work to amend the U.S. Constitution.Thomas Jefferson famously wrote that we should "provide in our constitution for its revision at stated periods." Each generation should have the "solemn opportunity" to update the Constitution "every nineteen or twenty years," thus allowing it to "be handed on, with periodical repairs, from generation to generation, to the end of time." It's time to end the last vestiges of slavery and abolish forced labor in prisons and jails.

    America has a long history of groups working to abolish slavery, particularly in the early 1820-1850s. Organizations like the Albany Vigilance Committee, the American Anti-Slavery Society of New York, the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women, the Female Wesleyan Anti-Slavery Society, the Free Soil Party, The Liberty League, the Freewill Baptist Anti-Slavery Society, and many others were instrumental in these efforts. These groups included churches, anti-slavery organizations, and political parties. In 1867, the National Anti-Slavery Standard, an abolitionist journal published in New York City, advocated for the passage of a new amendment to eliminate the words “except as a punishment for crime” from the Constitution.

Reflecting on the call for change 159 years ago, the ongoing struggle to end mass incarceration and close the 13th Amendment loophole persists. In 2022, voters in Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont, along with  Colorado, Nebraska, and Utah, abolished slavery in their state constitutions. While Louisiana resisted, similar movements are gaining momentum in California, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Ohio, New York and many others. Support H.J.Res.72 to end legal slavery. Join us in advocating for this cause.

Key Takeaways

• The celebration of Juneteenth juxtaposed with the existence of a "slavery loophole" in the 13th Amendment highlights a stark contradiction in America's journey towards genuine freedom and equality for all its citizens.

• Over 800,000 incarcerated individuals are still subjected to forced labor under conditions that mirror historical slavery, raising urgent questions about fairness, compensation, and the true end of involuntary servitude in the United States.

• Amending the U.S. Constitution to eradicate the "punishment for crime" clause and bolstering support for incarcerated workers through fair wages, unionization, and proper workforce development are critical steps toward rectifying injustices within the criminal legal system and reducing recidivism rates.