Plantations to Prison: The Flow of White Supremacy through American History
One amendment changed the legality of slavery, however it did not change the mindset passed through generations. Slavery was reinstated in many different forms immediately following the passing of the 13th Amendment. On paper freedom was granted but it would be many years before freedom would become a reality for the former slaves of the South.
Southern government created black codes to limit the freedom of former slaves. Black codes dictated much of the freedman’s life as slavery did to slaves. Freedmen had to carry written proof of employment at all times, could not congregate after certain hours, and had to sign yearly labor contracts. If any of the black codes were broken, blacks risked being fined and arrested if unable to pay the fine. Once arrested they were put to work on plantations or for various companies. Many of the black code would be outlawed within a year, but the embedded racism would continue for centuries. To combat the lost of labor and many blacks moving out of the south, Southern government enacted the convict leasing system. Many prominent southern elites hoped to “… perpetuate the slave system within a new industrial framework that would transcend the agricultural framework which (had) been destroyed.” ( Douglas-Bowers, 2)
It definitely has transcended centuries changing its name, not its principles. The concept of convict leasing is somewhat simple. Convicts would be leased out to plantations, railroad companies and other city based companies to work for free. Both men and women had to be chained together by the ankles and feed little to no food. They lived in the slumps with little shelter and blankets.
Fast forward to 2017 and we still have a prison structure that is similar to the convict leasing program. Companies such as Aramark, Whole Foods, AT&T, and Walmart — to name a few — has a stake in prison labor. Prison labor is much cheaper than the normal workers and outsourcing. Inmates are paid anywhere from $0.23 to $1.15 an hour to make products that sell for seven dollars to hundreds of dollars. The federal government created UNICOR to oversee prison, they try to paint the picture of companies helping and teaching inmates so that they can succeed once released. In reality it’s only a profit business that does not care about its workers. Since inmates do not have unions to lobby for them, the companies can get away with dangerous working conditions without repercussions.
Many argue that inmates deserve this type of treatment as punishment for their crimes but no one deserves to be treated less than human. The correlation between the prison industry today and slavery is dangerous. American government is boosting the prison population and endorsing prison labor. While drug offense send the most people to jail, minorities — blacks and latinos- receive longer sentences. The war on drugs started by President Nixon targeted mostly inner city black youth. The offenses for cocaine would be less severe than that of crack because it was seen more in wealthier neighborhoods. So young black kids would get jail time while wealthier children who get fined. Looking at the statistics, the amount of non violent inmates in prison alone is alarming. Another alarming statistic is that in 2015 minorities made up 30.9% of the United States populations, yet by 2016 minorities made up 71.3% of the total prison population.
Prison labor is the driving force behind some of America’s top and most profitable companies. To ensure that they are still profitable they have decided to cut back on the their workforce. Insourcing to prison has been the most beneficial practice, regardless of how its is harmful it is to inmates.
