Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Tags Inmates of several state prisons went on strike

Tag: inmates of several state prisons went on strike

I was a slave working under the California Department of Corrections

Though few Americans know it, the exception clause in the 13th Amendment makes a person a slave when they are convicted of a crime and sent to prison. I know that former President Barack Obama, a constitutional scholar and a Black man, understands this. I applaud his efforts to address issues of mass incarceration. I understand the symbolism of his visit to a federal prison, the only American president to ever do so. These were important first steps, but there is a long road ahead.