“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 is the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Now, most people associate this amendment with the abolishment of slavery. But really, what this amendment granted was the transition from Jim Crow racism to color-blind racism. What I mean by this is that racism no longer exists in a way of exact slavery, but in another sense of oppression: whites’ assertion within society that they are living in a world where racial privilege doesn’t exist, yet their behavior supports racialized structures and practices. Slavery had ended, but laws and societal standards took African American rights, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “justice long delayed is justice denied.”

In America, 1865 is known to be the year in which slaves were freed from labor, oppression, and discrimination. Some may celebrate this, as the Thirteenth Amendment granted freedom to all American citizens. Yet, slavery was an economic system for those society’s, so once the slaves were freed, how were these corporations to rebuild the economic system? Incarceration. Prisons. Jails. The Thirteenth Amendment grants freedom to all American’s, except for criminals. 

America is home to 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners. One out of four human beings have their hands on bars and their ankles shackled in the land of the free. African American’s make up 13% of America’s population, but 40% of the incarcerated population. Prisoners are the new form of slaves. 

The media has had a great impact with the process of mass incarceration, as most presidential campaigns were built off of the idea of crime. Ronald Reagan’s main focus for his campaign was drug abuse and possession, as he pushed for incarceration for drug related offenses. His campaign lacked the idea of prevention, as he didn’t consider drug abuse as a health issue, but as a criminal issue. With the influence of presidential candidates, the media began to parade black men on the news for being arrested. With these images, American societies began to see African Americans as “super predators” animalistic characters within society that should be avoided and punished for their behavior. With the domination of white men within society, American citizens began to see African American’s as a threat to society. 

The black population began to be arrested for petty crimes, such as public intoxication, theft, and drug possession. With the negative attention these minorities faced, they began to experience prejudice within the judicial system, as the economy now relied on incarceration. With the CCA and Alec corporations, states are required to keep prisons filled, even if the offenses were not extreme. Prison corporations are now getting rich off of punishment, as those who are incarcerated are forced to do labor. Many well known companies grow off of prison labor, such as Victoria’s Secret, Whole Foods, and Microsoft. 

With the Thriteenth Amendment, a new form of slavery was created within American socities, as minorities face prejudice within the legal system. America has a real issue with mass incarceration due to this amendment, as the economy now flourishes off of unjust labor of inmates. I believe this is a prominent issue within our society today, and I highly advocate that you educate yourself within this problematic topic. For more information, I recommend the documentary, The 13th, by Ava DuVernay (who also created When They See Us), as it addresses the issues of mass incarceration.