Slavery Never Ended. It Evolved.
Slavery didn’t die with the Thirteenth Amendment—it morphed. That so-called abolition came with a poisoned clause: slavery is banned, except as punishment for a crime. That loophole gave states the license to recreate slavery under a new name: convict leasing.
After the Civil War, Black men were arrested en masse for “crimes” like loitering or vagrancy. They were chained, leased out to plantations, railroads, and mines, and worked to death. Their bodies built the South’s infrastructure. This was not justice—it was profit off of Black suffering.
And here’s the truth we need to face: that system never really ended. Today, it wears a new mask. States still exploit incarcerated people for their labor, and corporations still reap the benefits. In Alabama, imprisoned people have been forced to work at McDonald’s and Home Depot. Think about that: safe enough to flip burgers, too “dangerous” for parole. That’s not justice—that’s racial capitalism in action.
Across the nation, incarcerated workers generate billions—farming food, fighting wildfires, sewing uniforms—all while earning pennies, or sometimes nothing. No minimum wage. No unions. No protections. Say no, and you risk solitary confinement or losing your chance at freedom. That’s not labor. That’s coercion. That’s slavery.
Meanwhile, private prison corporations like CoreCivic and GEO Group are cashing in. Their business model depends on full cells. In states like Alabama, the government even leases entire prison buildings from these companies. We may not be leasing Black bodies outright anymore, but the logic is the same: incarceration is a profit machine, and Black lives are its fuel.
This is not broken policy. This is the system working exactly as designed. From Black Codes to Jim Crow to the war on drugs, America has used criminalization to control and exploit Black communities. That is why the faces behind bars are disproportionately Black. That is why prison labor thrives. That is why corporations keep feeding at the trough.
Enough. We cannot tinker with this system—we have to dismantle it. That starts with ripping the slavery clause out of the Constitution. Several states have already voted to end this loophole. Congress must follow with the Abolition Amendment.
But policy alone won’t save us. This is about movement. It’s about building power that corporations and politicians can’t ignore. That means boycotting companies that profit from prison labor. That means supporting formerly incarcerated people and abolitionist organizations already leading this fight. That means flooding lawmakers’ offices with calls, letters, and demands. And it means telling the truth, loudly and unapologetically: prison labor is modern-day slavery.
Slavery never ended. But we can end its aftershocks. Not tomorrow. Not eventually. Now—if we organize, if we resist, if we refuse to let another generation be chained to profit.
For more information :
AP NEWS
USA Facts Org
https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-states-use-private-prisons/
KSAT
