| The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows slavery if it’s punishment for a crime. In Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas, state governments force prisoners to work without pay. In many other states, prisoners are forced to work for virtually no pay. At the state level, many states allow slavery, most of them in their Constitutions with language very similar to that of the 13th Amendment. In 2018, Colorado changed its Constitution to fully outlaw slavery. Since RootsAction began advocating on this issue, Nebraska and Utah have done the same in 2020, as have Oregon, Alabama, Tennessee, and Vermont in 2022.In 2024, the people of Nevada voted to ban slavery, but the people of California voted to keep it. If you live in one of these 18 places, you’ve got laws allowing slavery that still need to be changed: Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Washington DC. If that’s you, we’ve set up an online form you can use to easily email your legislators and governor: click here. |
Background: >> High Country News: “Why did Nevada vote to ban slavery, when California didn’t? >> Cal Matters: “Anti-slavery measure Prop. 6 fails, allowing forced labor to continue in California prisons” >> ABC: “Arkansas bill to ban slavery or involuntary servitude fails to move out of committee” >> NBC: “KY Rep. pushes to get rid of a slavery exception in Kentucky’s Constitution” >> Watch the film “13th” >> End the Exception >> The Guardian: “‘Slavery by any name is wrong’: the push to end forced labor in prisons” |
