The Illusion of Freedom
Do you remember the powerful scene in 12 Years a Slave when Solomon Northup, after years of unimaginable suffering, finally realizes he’s been freed? The nightmare, for him at least, is over. It’s a moment of profound relief and joy, a testament to the human spirit’s resilience. But while that was a moment of liberation for Solomon, the story of slavery in America is far from over. The reality is that, for Black people in this country, slavery never truly ended. The common belief that the 13th Amendment abolished slavery is, at best, a half-truth. In reality, it’s more accurate to say that for Black Americans, it has been 400 years of slavery, merely evolving and adapting over time.
The 13th Amendment and the Legalization of Forced Labor
The 13th Amendment, passed in 1865, is often celebrated as the legal end of slavery in the United States. However, a critical exception within its text allows for slavery and involuntary servitude as a punishment for crimes. This loophole has been exploited to devastating effect, particularly against Black communities. Rather than abolishing slavery outright, the 13th Amendment institutionalized it within the prison system, enabling state and federal prisons to use incarcerated individuals for profit through forced labor.
This exception has disproportionately impacted Black people and continues to drive the criminalization of Black communities. Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate of White Americans. In 12 states, more than half of the prison population is Black, despite Black people making up only 14% of the overall population. Illinois is one of those states, highlighting the systemic racism embedded in the criminal justice system.
The Three Eras of Slavery in the United States
Slavery in the United States has existed in three distinct eras. The first was the era of Black chattel slavery, a period marked by the brutal exploitation of Black bodies for economic gain. The second era began with Reconstruction in 1868, marked by the implementation of Black Codes and convict leasing. During this time, Black people were often arrested for minor offenses and then sold back into a form of slavery through convict leasing—a precursor to what we now know as mass incarceration.
The third era, which we are currently living in, began in the early 1970s and is characterized by mass incarceration. This modern-day iteration of slavery is a direct continuation of the practices that began during Reconstruction, with the criminal justice system serving as a tool to perpetuate the exploitation of Black people for profit.
The Design of Modern-Day Slavery
The perpetuation of slavery through the prison system is not an accident—it was by design. When the 13th Amendment was being debated in 1863, the U.S. Senate had the opportunity to abolish slavery in all its forms and establish true equality. However, this proposal was quickly rejected by Southern senators who were determined to maintain a system of cheap, exploitable labor. The compromise they struck was to include a clause that allowed for slavery as punishment for crimes, ensuring that Black people could continue to be enslaved under the guise of criminal justice.
So, while slavery may have ended in its original form in 1865, it merely evolved, adapting to the changing social and economic landscape of America. From slavery and plantations, to convict leasing, to sharecropping, and now to mass incarceration, the exploitation of Black people has persisted, driven by the same racist ideologies that fueled the original institution of slavery.
The Economic Exploitation of Prison Labor
Today, over 1.2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, with more than two-thirds of them working as prison laborers. The moment a person enters prison, they lose their right to refuse work, just as enslaved people did centuries ago. Incarcerated individuals produce more than $2 billion worth of goods and commodities each year and generate over $9 billion in services for the maintenance of prisons.
The profits generated by private prisons are so lucrative that the companies that own them are publicly traded on the stock market. Most 401(k) plans, IRAs, pension funds, and private wealth management portfolios include stocks from these private prison companies. Investing in these companies is considered a safe bet—prison stocks are inflation-proof, stable, and almost guaranteed to yield profits and growth. This profitability is built on the backs of incarcerated individuals, the majority of whom are Black and Brown, further entrenching systemic racism in the American economy.
The Enduring Commitment to Private Prisons
The United States’ commitment to private prisons and the wealth they generate is deeply entrenched. For example, toward the end of the Obama administration, the Justice Department announced plans to reduce and eventually end the federal government’s use of private prisons. This news caused the stock prices of private prison companies to plummet. However, when Donald Trump took office in January 2017, one of his first actions was to reverse this policy. As soon as the reversal was announced, the stock prices of private prisons skyrocketed, underscoring the financial dependency on mass incarceration.
The Corporations Benefiting from Prison Labor
The list of corporations that have benefited from prison labor is extensive and includes some of the biggest names in the business world. Companies like Whole Foods, McDonald’s, Walmart, Victoria’s Secret, AT&T, BP, Bank of America, Bayer, Cargill, Caterpillar, Chevron, Chrysler, Costco, John Deere, Eli Lilly, Exxon Mobil, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Pepsi, and Verizon have all, at some point, profited from the exploitation of incarcerated workers. These workers perform a wide range of tasks, from manufacturing police and military gear to answering phones at DMV call centers in New York. In Louisiana’s Angola prison, incarcerated individuals still harvest corn, soybeans, and cotton, just as enslaved Black people did a century ago. This is not an isolated phenomenon—states like Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Texas all have penal farms that house prisoners on land that was once slave plantations.
The Exploitation of Prison Labor During the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the exploitation of prison labor. Nearly every state in the country benefited from incarcerated workers who were used to meet the skyrocketing demand for personal protective equipment (PPE). These workers made masks, hand sanitizer, medical gowns, and other essential equipment. They worked in morgues, transported bodies, dug mass graves, and built coffins. They washed hospital bed sheets, towels, and gowns, performing the same essential functions as front-line workers in the pandemic, but for pennies on the dollar.
In California, 30% of the state’s firefighting force is composed of incarcerated individuals. These inmate firefighters risk their lives battling the wildfires that rage every year in the state, all while earning just $1 an hour. If states were required to pay prisoners minimum wage, they couldn’t afford to keep operating. The financial structure of the prison system would collapse, revealing the true cost of this modern-day slavery.
The Reality of Evolved Slavery
When people ask if slavery ended in 1865, the answer is no. It has evolved, adapting to the changing times and finding new ways to exploit Black and Brown bodies for profit. From slavery and plantations, to convict leasing, to sharecropping, to mass incarceration, the story of slavery in America is one of persistence and adaptation. The systems of oppression have changed in name and form, but their essence remains the same.
This is not just a historical footnote—it’s a reality that continues to shape the lives of millions of people in the United States today. The idea that slavery was abolished with the 13th Amendment is a comforting myth, but the truth is far more complex and far more disturbing. Slavery never ended; it simply evolved.
As we confront this uncomfortable reality, it’s crucial to recognize that the fight for true freedom and equality is far from over. The systems of oppression that were established centuries ago continue to thrive, fueled by the same racist ideologies that justified slavery in the first place. To dismantle these systems, we must first acknowledge their existence and their impact, both in the past and in the present. Only then can we begin the work of building a more just and equitable society.
