Former Slave

UN Report Urges End to Forced US Prison Labor—a ‘Contemporary Form of Slavery’
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UN Report Urges End to Forced US Prison Labor—a ‘Contemporary Form of Slavery’

A report published Thursday by United Nations human rights experts condemns systemic racism in the U.S. criminal justice system and policing, while describing “appalling” prison conditions and decrying forced unpaid convict labor as a “contemporary form of slavery.” The U.N. International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the Context of Law…

The fiber that binds | Newberry Observer
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The fiber that binds | Newberry Observer

Cotton is a popular textile fiber touted as being eco-friendly since it is derived from a sustainable plant. It is widely recognized for its use in the making of fabrics for clothing, sheets and towels. Surprisingly, it is also present in U.S. currency, rope, paper, cooking oil, livestock feed and some fuels. Despite its usefulness,…

They received reparations in 2022. Did it really change their lives?
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They received reparations in 2022. Did it really change their lives?

Louis Weathers didn’t know what to think when he heard he was going to receive reparations for slavery. He had listened to people talking about reparations — people such as Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton — during the two decades he’d lived in Washington DC. But it was always couched as a demand, or an aspiration:…

Louisiana systematically keeping people incarcerated past their release date
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Louisiana systematically keeping people incarcerated past their release date

Watch our event with a brilliant panel of activists discussing forced prison labor. Louisiana, the U.S. state dubbed the “world’s prison capital”, has a deep-rooted forced prison labor problem. In addition to this human rights violation, it is the only jurisdiction in the U.S. that is known to systematically keep people incarcerated past their release…

Kentucky still reaps slavery’s bitter fruit as prisons and jails swell with ‘indentured servants’
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Kentucky still reaps slavery’s bitter fruit as prisons and jails swell with ‘indentured servants’

Kentucky resisted the end of slavery, refusing to certify the 13th Amendment at the time and only freeing people six months after June 19, 1865, the day celebrated as the Juneteenth holiday. Legislators finally ratified the amendment in 1976. And to this day, the state Constitution endorses slavery for one group of citizens: inmates. Reads…

Slavery rejected in some, not all, states where on ballot
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Slavery rejected in some, not all, states where on ballot

Voters in four states have approved ballot measures that will change their state constitutions to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime, while those in a fifth state rejected a flawed version on the question. The measures approved Tuesday could curtail the use of prison labor in Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont. In…

Slavery rejected in some, not all, states where it was on the ballot
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Slavery rejected in some, not all, states where it was on the ballot

Voters in three states approved ballot measures that will change their state constitutions to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime, while those in a fourth state rejected the move. The measures approved Tuesday curtail the use of prison labor in Alabama, Tennessee and Vermont. In Oregon, “yes” was leading its anti-slavery ballot initiative, but…

More US Employers Are Trapping Workers in a New Form of Indentured Servitude – Truthout
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More US Employers Are Trapping Workers in a New Form of Indentured Servitude – Truthout

  Bosses in industries such as retail, health care and logistics are reverting to an old tactic and trapping people in miserable jobs by threatening to saddle them with debt if they quit. Workers across the United States in fields ranging from nursing to trucking have been discouraged from leaving jobs they hate or can’t…

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…