In times like these, it is more apparent than ever that every Black American must be prepared tolay
Joe Biden and the Jim Crow
Democrats fundamental business practices are no longer worth the paper that they are written
on in a digital era that belongs to us. As much as they may try and artificially glorify the 13 th
Amendment, Biden and Bloomberg’s insatiable appetite for free prison labor is as clear as day.
On top of that, America’s political split-personality continues to baffle the best of us. And here is
a prime example. California, that bastion of liberal progressivism, is well known for its protection
of immigrants as actual human beings, promoting women’s rights and being at the vanguard of
fighting climate change. Yet in July of this year, in a state which widely celebrated Juneteenth,
the state’s Senate incredulously failed to pass Assembly Constitutional Amendment 3 (ACA3).
For the uninitiated, ACA3 proposed to do away with the lingering language of “Involuntary
Servitude” in California’s constitution, a hang-over from the Civil War that has been allowed to
fester ever since.
Just how can California claim to be the nation’s progressive leader if they can’t wipe away a
remnant of slavery of all things? Well, consider this. The blood-soaked legacy of slavery and
forced labor (Involuntary Servitude) actually deep in the history of the Golden State.
Consequently, California is one of nine states that keeps Involuntary Servitude on its judicial
books as a form of criminal punishment in prison. In contrast, and to their credit, Colorado,
Nebraska and Utah have already removed the penal Involuntary Servitude clauses from their
constitutions. With that as the case, how on Earth has the California situation come about? Why
was Involuntary Servitude in California’s constitution at all? The federal prohibition of slavery
was conceived by Lincoln’s presidential proclamation that was ultimately expanded by
ratification of the 13 th Amendment. Yet at the same time, that same amendment contains
language allowing for Involuntary Servitude as a criminal punishment – something that
California has opted to hang on to in its own constitution.
For prison inmates in California, Involuntary Servitude, and refusing to comply is a big deal. The
work they do is a punishment as opposed to being focused on rehabilitation. When inmates
refuse to work, their liberties can be further curtailed. They can, for example, be placed in
solitary confinement, have restricted visitation rights and other demeaning penalties. That
Involuntary Servitude exception was never even a thing until it was slipped into the 13 th
Amendment with the supposed “end” of slavery. Never kid yourself, slavery never went away, it
just stealthy morphed into its next sinister guise, completely under the radar. So it is then that
penal Involuntary Servitude is yet another component of the racist formula that historically
makes up our nation.
Add to that how a recent study by UC Berkeley identified that a staggering $150 million revenue
is generated annually by California’s incarcerated individuals, then you start to get a better