- Mar 11, 2015
- 77,293
- 34,753
- 2,330
It's time to stop the gaslighting, right wingers.
The 2022 elections have already shaped up to be among the most politically-charged midterm elections in some time. Among the many political races and laws that will be on the ballot in November, several states will be voting on a question that most of us had assumed had been settled long ago: rather to officially abolish slavery. Here’s what to know before voting in November.
The “except as a punishment for crime” clause in the 13th amendment, however, allowed southern states to criminalize Blackness in ways that let them retain some degree of forced labor, and over time it has contributed to the problem of mass incarceration in the U.S.
Now keep telling me how slavery is only practiced today in Africa.
The 2022 elections have already shaped up to be among the most politically-charged midterm elections in some time. Among the many political races and laws that will be on the ballot in November, several states will be voting on a question that most of us had assumed had been settled long ago: rather to officially abolish slavery. Here’s what to know before voting in November.
Wait, isn't slavery already illegal?
Despite conservative attempts to whitewash history in recent years, those of us with even a cursory understanding of American history generally believe that slavery was abolished in the United States as a result of the Civil War. That is technically true. The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares that “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.”The “except as a punishment for crime” clause in the 13th amendment, however, allowed southern states to criminalize Blackness in ways that let them retain some degree of forced labor, and over time it has contributed to the problem of mass incarceration in the U.S.
Now keep telling me how slavery is only practiced today in Africa.