Notes From The Week #32

What’s good my people? I trust we’re all doing well. New York was great; as is always the case with the Big Apple! However, I couldn’t help but thinking about how pronounced the income inequality there is. Particularly in Brooklyn. It led me to think about how things became this way. I went down a rabbit hole of the economic impact of slavery, constitutional law and mass incarceration. This week we’ll be taking a look at the 13th Amendment—the law which ultimately abolished slavery in the United States and the current context of how that amendment is playing out.

The 13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was adopted on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as a punishment for a crime. The impact of the 13th Amendment has been significant and far-reaching in American history, as it fundamentally changed the legal status of millions of African Americans who had been held in bondage.

Here are some of the key impacts of the 13th Amendment:

1. Abolition of slavery: The 13th Amendment officially abolished slavery in the United States, ending the practice of buying and selling human beings as property. This was a historic milestone in the struggle for civil rights and the abolitionist movement.

2. Legal recognition of freedom: The 13th Amendment also legally recognized the freedom of millions of enslaved Africans and African Americans who had been held in bondage. This provided a foundation for future legal battles for equal rights and civil rights for Black Americans.

3. Impact on the economy: The end of slavery had a profound impact on the American economy, as it disrupted the labor force and created a shortage of workers in some industries. It also led to the growth of the sharecropping system, which kept many Black Americans in a state of economic dependence and poverty.

4. Ongoing struggles for civil rights: Although the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, it did not end discrimination against African Americans, who continued to face segregation, voter suppression, and other forms of systemic racism. The struggle for civil rights and equal treatment under the law continued for many years after the 13th Amendment was ratified.

The 2016 documentary 13th which was directed by Ava DuVernay explored the “intersection of race, justice and mass incarceration in the United States”. DuVernay contends that slavery has been perpetuated through mass incarceration. Michelle Alexander, a writer and legal scholar, who appears on the show calls this phenomenon The New Jim Crow.

The New Jim Crow as she asserts describes the ways in which the United States criminal justice system has created a new form of racial segregation and discrimination that disproportionately affects black and brown communities. Alexander argues that this system has become a modern-day version of the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 2016 after sharing news about being awarded the 21st Heinz Award for Public Policy, Michelle Alexander explained on Facebook that she would be leaving academia to join a seminary.

This statement reminded me of the necessity to consider a problem from many angles. When we stop to consider some of the ills taking place in America and across the world; policy alone will not fix everything. Empathy is also required.

Until next week. Peace.