13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. This amendment, which was one of the most important milestones in the history of the United States, ended the practice of slavery that had been a part of American society since the country’s founding. The 13th Amendment marked a major turning point in the struggle for civil rights and equality in the United States.

 

 

The 5 states with ballot initiatives to abolish slavery in 2022
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The 5 states with ballot initiatives to abolish slavery in 2022

(Getty Images) Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio. It’s 2022, and five states have ballot initiatives to abolish slavery. Yes, you read that right. In the “land of the free,” the states of Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont have an opportunity to…

Why unions can’t ignore incarcerated workers
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Why unions can’t ignore incarcerated workers

An estimated two thirds of the more than one million prisoners in the United States today are incarcerated workers. With many prisoners earning less than a dollar an hour, and those who refuse to work often facing vicious retaliation in the form of punitive solitary confinement, labor exploitation is an important part of what makes…

The United States’ Practice of Forced Labor at Home and Abroad: Truth and Facts (Part One)
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The United States’ Practice of Forced Labor at Home and Abroad: Truth and Facts (Part One)

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) — The United States’ Practice of Forced Labor at Home and Abroad: Truth and Facts August 2022 Introduction Over the years, the United States has concocted the biggest lies of the century such as the so-called “genocide” and “forced labor” in Xinjiang, in an attempt to smear and contain China. It…

Snoqualmie to use prison labor in WASHINGTON STATE public works department
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Snoqualmie to use prison labor in WASHINGTON STATE public works department

Unable to find seasonal public works employees this summer, the City of Snoqualmie has turned to correctional inmates — signing an agreement with the state Department of Corrections (DOC) that will pay inmates less than $2 an hour. While the city has no control over the pay-rate, city councilmembers, in a 6-1 vote, approved a…

Rehabilitate prisoners? Actually, Arizona’s prison labor program is more like slavery
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Rehabilitate prisoners? Actually, Arizona’s prison labor program is more like slavery

Leasing human beings to profiteers is morally wrong. It’s no less so when the leasing is done by government and the human beings are prisoners. In fact, it is akin to slave labor. It raises serious questions about our public institutions and the people we entrust to guide them. That’s the central takeaway from a joint…

People incarcerated in the US produce $11 billion worth of goods a year but can’t afford a bar of soap
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People incarcerated in the US produce $11 billion worth of goods a year but can’t afford a bar of soap

Passed by the U.S. Congress on January 31, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery. But, due to an exception clause, the amendment allowed slavery to remain legal as punishment for a crime, thus allowing states to extract free labor from prisoners. Today, in the U.S., more than 65% of those incarcerated…

Australia’s prisons are also a source of forced labor
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Australia’s prisons are also a source of forced labor

As part of the Abolish Slavery National Network Freedom United is campaigning against the poor conditions facing incarcerated people in U.S. prisons. Together we are saying, “No slavery, no exceptions.” Because of the exception clause – or the punishment clause –  of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, incarcerated people in the U.S. can…

Health Care Providers Are Missing Signs of Human Trafficking / Modern Slavery
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Health Care Providers Are Missing Signs of Human Trafficking / Modern Slavery

“88% of nearly a hundred trafficking victims had contact with a health care provider at some point while being trafficked” Thousands of sex trafficking victims filter through the U.S. health care system each year. Words and Photos by Isabella Gomes This article appeared in print as “What Doctors Are Missing” in the Spring 2020 issue of Hopkins Bloomberg…

Conducting Anti-Trafficking Work Using a Racial Equity Lens
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Conducting Anti-Trafficking Work Using a Racial Equity Lens

Recently, there was a request for information made by the US State Department’s Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG) asked for input from key stakeholders and community members on how it can advance racial justice and equity in work combatting human trafficking. We’re glad this request was made, and…