From Slave To Criminal In One Amendment – The 13th

From Slave To Criminal In One Amendment - The 13th It’s a time of polarized attitudes about mass incarceration, brutality, and the explosion of for-profit prisons and their affiliates.  Today’s show explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation's prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.  A reading of one sentence in the 13th Amendment to our Constitution is the foundation of Ava DuVernay's documentary, 13TH. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”   In other words, slavery shall not exist except as punishment for crime.  It’s in our Constitution.  Incarceration equals slavery.  Today's prisons, which house millions of persons of color, are simply the next incarnation of the centuries-old U.S. exploitation of those who have been deemed "lesser personages”. Jaws of Justice hopes to effectively double down to both educate our listeners and inspire them to take a stand against racial injustice in the USA.  Both Democratic and Republican administrations are responsible for burgeoning prisons and the devastating effect of past policies on an entire minority population. These corporations and/or organizations depend upon…