The 13th Amendment outlawed slavery—with one big caveat: “except as a punishment for a crime.” For a century and half, that’s been used to re-enslave American citizens (disproportionately black men). So I’m introducing a Constitutional amendment to end this abomination.

This loophole was used to force Black prisoners, many picked up for Black-only “crimes” like loitering, to work for free after Reconstruction. Sometimes in the same fields they worked when enslaved. In 1898, 73% of Alabama’s state budget came from selling the labor of prisoners.

Still today ~1 million prisoners, many Black & Brown, work for less than $1/hour or even nothing at all. And of course, many of those are in for non-violent drug crimes. It’s time to end this system of forced, unpaid labor rooted in our history of slavery & racism. More to come.