END SLAVERY
in Virginia!
Take action now and join the fight to abolish all forms of slavery in the state of Virginia for the first time in history!
Our mission at Abolish Slavery Virginia is to eradicate modern-day slavery in all its forms. By amending Virginia's state constitution to close the loophole known as the "exception clause," we can fully abolish slavery—without exceptions. This critical change is an imperative stepbreak free from a legacy of systemic racism, oppression, and exploitation. Slavery is never acceptable, under any circumstances. It's time for Virginia to stand on the right side of history and ensure true freedom for all.
Did you know...
Slavery is NEVER acceptable, under ANY circumstances and must be stopped. It is time to take slavery off the books, and out of our state constitution. ​​​​​​
That slavery was never actually fully abolished? In the wording of the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution lies a loophole that would come to be known as the 'Exception Clause'. It states:
"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."
This exception effectively legalized slavery as long as you were convicted of a crime. Following the Civil War and the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865, Southern states quickly responded by imposing "Black Codes" - new laws that explicitly applied only to Black Americans and subjected them to criminal prosecution for petty, arbitrary "offenses". This was done specifically to facilitate their arrest, imprisonment, and re-enslavement, as a means to continue the forced labor that the South so heavily depended on. The incentivized incarceration of Black Americans increased exponentially in order to meet the labor needs of former slave owners, through convict leasing, where prisoners were leased in bulk to work for plantation owners as well as corporations, who enjoyed cheap labor, while the states enjoyed a lucrative new source of revenue.​
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[Essentially, the criminal justice system colluded with plantation and business owners to
entrap, convict, and lease out black prisoners for hard labor.]
The exploitation and profiteering from "slaves of the state" continued to drive the over-incarceration of Black Americans throughout the Jim Crow era, and, by creating a financial incentive for mass incarceration, reinforced expanding policies such as the War on Drugs, minimum-sentencing practices, severe plea deals, and three-strike laws that continue to worsen the problem of mass incarceration today.
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Abolish Slavery VA, Virginia Justice Alliance, and the Abolish Slavery National Network are calling upon our state representatives to introduce legislation that would amend the state constitution of Virginia, adding language that explicitly protects our citizens from the 13th Amendment's exception clause, and abolishing all slavery in our state, no matter the form, for the first time in history.
Our Call to Action to Virginia's General Assembly Members:
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