Preventing prisoners from voting might seem like common sense. But felony disenfranchisement is actually a policy of white supremacy.

Let's break this down. When and why did America decide that people convicted of a crime should not vote?

Before the Civil War, voting rights weren’t linked to convictions. America did not incarcerate in large numbers — and besides, most of the population was not even afforded the right to vote.

With the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, slavery was abolished and Black men got the right to vote.

However, an exception in the 13th Amendment still allows for slavery as punishment for a crime. This exception led to "Black Code" laws that essentially criminalized Black life.

Those convicted under Black Code laws could be leased out to do work, providing huge incentives to criminalize and incarcerate Black people.

From 1850 to 1870, the percentage of non-white prisoners in Alabama went from 2% to 74%. At least 90% of prison laborers were Black.

After incarceration, the next step was felony disenfranchisement.

In South Carolina, a newspaper said that whites needed to avoid being swept away at the polls by the Black vote.

In Alabama, manipulating the ballot was justified to avoid the "menace of Negro domination."

Today, one out of every 13 Black adults is disenfranchised. In some states, it's one out of five.

In total, 2.2 million Black citizens are banned from voting.

We cannot deny Black Americans full citizenship any longer.

Read more about why we should all support the restoration of voting rights to people in prison here: https://www.aclu.org/blog/voting-rights/racist-roots-denying-incarcerated-people-their-right-vote