The 13th Amendment ended slavery as we knew it, but created an entirely new form of slavery that has persisted for nearly two hundred years; forced prison labor.

With the abolition of slavery, Southern states lost millions in free labor and needed a solution quickly to fix this perceived injustice. This fix came in the form of laws that criminalized black Americans for things like “vagrancy” and “walking without a purpose.” 

“Black Codes” were laws implemented by Southern states to limit the freedom of Black Americans and attempt to continue the hold over the labor force slavery had offered white landowners. 

Black Codes eventually evolved into Jim Crow Laws which further persecuted people of color in America in an attempt to profit from their free labor.

Later in the 20th century, the “War on Drugs” saw thousands upon thousands of harsh sentences for non-violent drug offenses that filled prisons across America with people who were forced to work for little to no pay. 

The common theme between all of these is the wrongful persecution and mass incarceration of people, particularly people of color. 

According to the Vera Institute, over 1.2 million people are incarcerated in the United States today, meaning that there are 1.2 million people with no legal protection from slavery.

Some argue that if inmates are going to be forced to work, they should be paid the federal minimum wage. To not pay would be to further exploit their labor and continue the profit incentive of mass incarceration. 

States today use the same morally bankrupt logic that the South used before the Civil War; we can not afford to pay them any more than they already make. 

The richest country on Earth has a common problem of not being able to afford policies and services that would benefit Amercicans, but can make exceptions for corporations and the already wealthy whenever it is needed. 

We are able to create money seemingly out of thin air when the institutions need it, but Americans suffer because profit is chosen over people. 

One of the main reasons that slavery was tolerated for so long in America was the dehumanization of the slaves themselves. 

Black people were portrayed as less-than compared to their white counterparts and their mistreatment was justified by this moral superiority. 

This dehumanization has shifted to the inmates in America, who are viewed as less deserving of the rights and protections that free citizens are afforded. 

Forced prison labor should be completely abolished. A new amendment must be made that outlaws slavery in all forms with no exceptions. 

I am conscious of those who would argue that inmates should be forced to work in order to pay for their crimes, but I would argue that the profit incentives of cheap labor further increases the chances that people are arrested and jailed for minor offenses. 

Apply the capitalist principles of “work hard and be rewarded” to the prison system if you like. If prisoners want jobs to fill their time or learn new skills, let them do just that and pay them fairly so that they can be more adjusted to life after their release. 

We cannot feign progress while still forcing those we jail to work for little to no money. If prisons were to focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment, we could see the rates of repeat offenders drop, meaning more citizens are able to work.

If money is the primary concern, which in America it almost always is, then by having fewer inmates we would have more tax paying citizens. 

If we treat inmates like people, because they are, and less like animals, we will cultivate a better justice system that benefits all Americans, regardless of class or color. By finally abolishing slavery in all its forms, we become the beacon of liberty and freedom we claim to be. 

But of course, that’s just one man’s opinion. 

Categories: Opinion