maslows-pyramid-scheme:

uncommonbish:

Slavery. Is. Still. Legal. In. The. United. States. 

When slavery was abolished in the United States, southern governments enacted racially discriminatory laws. The laws were both disproportionately enforced against black Americans (such as prohibitions on public drunkenness and swearing), or specifically targeted at black Americans (for example, a law required former slaves to gain employment within 13 days else they would face imprisonment). Prisoners were subject to a system of convict-leasing, where convicts were leased to both private and public entities including state politicians, with no guarantee of minimum comforts or safety. Black men made up the majority of convicts in the system, and although white women were excused from hard labour, black women were given no such consideration: convict leasing is a system that was designed to replace slavery with… slavery. It was, moreover, a way of maintaining white supremacy.

I think it’s worth noting that, while laws specifically aimed at black Americans have been widely abolished, there is nonetheless still unequal treatment of poc in the ‘justice’ system. Introduction of mandatory minimum sentences coupled with the concentration of law enforcement in predominantly black or immigrant areas, continues to see poc disproportionately imprisoned, thereby disproportionately ending up as modern slaves. It’s not only a serious problem in immigration, but in all facets of law.