Mass Incarceration as The Modern Day Slavery in The United States

The 13th Amendment and Its Implications

The 13th Amendment significantly highlights the key aspects comparing slavery to mass incarceration. The Jim Crow laws emerged after slavery, spanning the years from 1877 through the 1960s. Many believe that the Jim Crow Laws were merely a set of anti-black laws, but they were much more than that; they constituted a way of life that people had to abide by. The Jim Crow Laws were strengthened by the belief that whites were superior to blacks in every way. Absurd laws, such as prohibiting blacks and whites from eating together or forbidding blacks from showing affection to one another because it was deemed insulting to whites, exemplify this (Pilgrim, 2000). The 13th Amendment banned slavery and involuntary servitude, yet when people are imprisoned, they are not rehabilitated; instead, they are given tasks to perform involuntarily. Since they are incarcerated, they have no choice in the matter, and thus the 13th Amendment does not apply to them because they are locked away.

Mass Incarceration as The Modern-Day Slavery in The United States

Mass incarceration began after the tenure of the 37th president, Richard Nixon, who was in office from 1969 to 1974. The administration sought to crack down on drugs, aiming for a drug-free America by 1995. This marked the beginning of the “War on Drugs.” Laws against drug possession in the 1970s became stricter, resulting in mandatory minimum sentences, which caused the prison population to swell with non-violent drug offenders (Pilgrim, 2000). Under the administrations of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton, mass incarceration gained momentum. The problem with mass incarceration is that 2.3 million Americans are jailed, and one in four prisoners in the entire world are in the US (Morgan, 2016). Mass incarceration disproportionately impacted African American communities; of the 2.3 million Americans in jail, 40% are African American men (DuVernay, 2016). African Americans were often seen as more of a threat and a target, treated as a lower class compared to Caucasians. However, mass incarceration also intersected with issues of class.

Most African Americans in the 60s and 70s lived in poverty, often turning to selling drugs as a means of survival, not necessarily to get into trouble, but to bring some income into their households. In the African American community, crack was an epidemic. While cocaine was prevalent as well, crack was cheaper to produce and obtain, which is why it was more commonly sold and consumed. Cocaine was more associated with Caucasians, whereas crack was more associated with African Americans. Crack offenses carried heavier sentences than cocaine; someone caught with crack would automatically receive a mandatory minimum of 5, 10, or 20 years, depending on the jurisdiction. In contrast, someone caught with cocaine had to possess 100 times more to receive a similar prison term. This disparity took parents away from their children, and the laws enacted at the time were ostensibly made to protect African Americans (FAMM, 2016).

The Challenges of Reforming the Criminal Justice System

In today's society, I don’t believe that the criminal justice system can be reformed easily. With the current president-elect and the racism that has been brought to light, it has become evident how some people in America truly feel. To change the system, it is imperative to first fix what is broken, starting with the mindset of those individuals who wish to "Make America Great Again" by reverting to past ideologies. Genuine change can only occur if people are willing to embrace it and move forward.

References

• Pilgrim, D. (2000). What Was Jim Crow? Ferris State University. Retrieved from https://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm
• Morgan, K. (2016). Mass Incarceration in America. YaleGlobal Online. Retrieved from https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/mass-incarceration-america
• DuVernay, A. (2016). 13th [Documentary]. Netflix.
• Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM). (2016). Mandatory Minimums and Sentencing Reform. Retrieved from https://famm.org/