Contrary to popular belief, the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1865, did not abolish slavery; it codified it—shifting the location of its deployment from the plantation to the prison. The amendment reads: “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” (my emphasis). Slavery and crime are explicitly linked in the founding document of American democracy. In a double motion, the Thirteenth Amendment extends political freedom to blacks as it simultaneously withholds such freedom. It fashions the punishment of crime as the exception to abolition-democracy, and establishes the “criminal justice system” as the institutional inheritor of the slavery regime, as the receptacle of slavery’s racialized forms of punishment.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH IS MARCH TOO!

In 1865, enslaved people in Texas were notified by Union Civil War soldiers about the abolition of slavery. This was 2.5 years after the final Emancipation Proclamation which freed all enslaved Black Americans.

But Slavery Continued. In 1866, a year after the amendment was ratified, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina began to lease out convicts for labor.

This made the business of arresting black people very lucrative, thus hundreds of white men were hired by these states as police officers.

Their primary responsibility being to search out and arrest black peoples who were in violation of ‘Black Codes’

Basically, black codes were a series of laws criminalizing legal activity for black people. Through the enforcement of these laws, they could be imprisoned.

Once arrested, these men, women & children would be leased to plantations or they would be leased to work at coal mines, or railroad companies. The owners of these businesses would pay the state for every prisoner who worked for them; prison labor.

It’s believed that after the passing of the 13th Amendment, more than 800,000 Black people were part of that system of re-enslavement through the prison system.

The 13th Amendment declared that "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."

Lawmakers used this phrase to make petty offenses crimes. When Blacks were found guilty of committing these crimes, they were imprisoned and then leased out to the same businesses that lost slaves after the passing of the 13th Amendment.

The majority of White Southern farmers and business owners hated the 13th Amendment because it took away slave labor. As a way to appease them, the federal government turned a blind eye when southern states used this clause in the 13th Amendment to establish the Black Codes.

Every time I see something about Dave Chappelle, I always think about the movie Get Out.

I'm moving to Senegal....Shiiiiiiiiiid!!! I guess Derek Earl Garner will soon be my new neighbor 😁

Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the new President of Senegal with his two wives.

Adds Philadelphia to my list that rhymes with Bucket...

You know I thug 'em, fuck 'em, love 'em, leave 'em
'Cause I don't fucking need 'em
Take 'em out the hood, keep 'em looking good
But I don't fucking feed 'em
First time they fuss I'm breezing
Talking about, "What's the reasons?"
I'm a pimp in every sense of the word
Bitch, better trust and believe 'em
In the cut where I keep 'em
'Til I need a nut, 'til I need to beat the guts
Then it's "beep beep" and I'm picking them up
Let 'em play with the dick in the truck
Many chicks wanna put Jigga's fists in cuffs
Divorce him and split his bucks
Just because you got good head
I'ma break bread, so you can be living it up?
Shit, I part with nothing, y'all be fronting
Me give my heart to a woman?
Not for nothing, never happen; I'll be forever macking
Heart cold as assassins, I got no passion
I got no patience and I hate waiting
Ho, get your ass in and let's ride!
Check em out now, ride!
Ride!
Check em out now, ride!

#wildoutwenzday ...🤣

Rapper 50 Cent posts cryptic message about Jay Z, one day after fellow rapper P Diddy had his LA and Miami home raided by Homeland Security in connection with a federal s*x trafficking investigation”.

50 Cent posted a ‘Missing’ milk carton image of Jay Z with the caption:

“Anybody seen J? LOL. Puff said the 🥷🏼 ain’t answering his phone. LOL.”