*There’s a loophole in the 13 Amendment that allowed a form of slavery to exist after the Civil War ended in 1865, and is still legal to this day.
The 13th Amendment states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
This ushered in prison boom in the 19th century, which allowed plantation owners and industrialists to use prisoners for free labor. Fast forward to the 21st century and private companies continue to benefit from free/low-wage inmate workers.
Democrats in the House and Senate on Wednesday introduced a joint resolution that would prohibit involuntary servitude as a punishment for crime.
READ MORE: Ava DuVernay Explains How ‘Loophole’ in 13th Amendment Still Allows for Slavery
U.S. lawmakers have introduced a resolution that would amend the 13th Amendment’s ban on chattel enslavement to prohibit involuntary servitude as a punishment for crime. https://t.co/XgfWEi7oSk
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 3, 2020
Here’s more about the effort via GOOD:
For the new amendment to pass, it would have to be approved by a two-thirds majority of both the House and Senate or by a constitutional convention in which two-thirds of the state legislature vote to support the measure. After that, three-quarters of the state conventions or legislatures must approve of the change.
The 13th Amendment “continued the process of a white power class gravely mistreating Black Americans, creating generations of poverty, the breakup of families and this wave of mass incarceration that we still wrestle with today,” Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon told The Associated Press ahead of the resolution’s introduction on Wednesday.
Rep. William Lacy Clay, of St. Louis, said the amendment “seeks to finish the job that President (Abraham) Lincoln started.”
It would “eliminate the dehumanizing and discriminatory forced labor of prisoners for profit that has been used to drive the over-incarceration of African Americans since the end of the Civil War,” Clay said.
“America was founded on beautiful principles of equality and justice and horrific realities of slavery and white supremacy, and if we are ever going to fully deliver on the principles we have to directly confront the realities,” said Democrats Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
“The exception to the 13th Amendment’s ban on slavery corrupted criminal justice into a tool of racist control of Black Americans and other people of color, and we see that legacy every day in police encounters, courtrooms, and prisons throughout our country,” Merkley continued.
The 13th Amendment – which ended slavery – was ratified 155 years ago today. Unfortunately, the legacy of slavery continues to plague our communities of color through systemic racism, injustice and discrimination. We must fight these inequalities to create a better tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/oSzDT2uads
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) December 6, 2020
“Slavery is incompatible with justice. No slavery, no exceptions,” Merkley said.
“Our Abolition Amendment seeks to finish the job that President Lincoln started by ending the punishment clause in the 13th Amendment to eliminate the dehumanizing and discriminatory forced labor of prisoners for profit that has been used to drive the over-incarceration of African Americans since the end of the Civil War,” Clay added.
“No American should ever be subject to involuntary servitude, even if they are incarcerated,” Clay continued.
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