Listen here. When wars dominate headlines, labor exploitation rarely makes the cut. But a new study1 by Dr. Maayan Niezna and Dr. Yahel Kurlander, shows why we need to be paying closer attention to what’s happening to non-citizen workers caught up in the war in Israel and Palestine. Israel’s economy depends on non-citizen labor Before […]
Category: Prison slavery
Why Juneteenth matters more than ever
For generations, Black Americans and their allies have called for reparations for one of the greatest crimes in human history. Millions of people bought, sold, brutalized, and forced to labor for the enrichment of others. Families were separated. Lives were stolen. Vast fortunes were built. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, […]
5 books to check out on World Book Day
Books do more than just tell stories—they open doors into lives we might never otherwise see. This World Book Day, my colleagues and I are celebrating the joy of reading. We also want to highlight books that challenge us, that confront harsh realities, and that tell the truth. So, we’re sharing our book recommendations for […]
California turned its back on abolition—but we can’t stop
Slavery still exists in the United States. That’s not hyperbole—it’s the reality written into the constitutions of many states and, most disturbingly, in the American Constitution itself. The 13th Amendment, often celebrated for abolishing slavery, includes a chilling exception: slavery and involuntary servitude are permissible as punishment for a crime. For over 150 years, this […]
Virginia elected officials seek to glorify slavery legacies
Freedom United works to abolish all forms of modern slavery, wherever they may exist across the globe. While our focus is on the present and future, it’s essential to understand how historical contexts shape our efforts. Accordingly, we find it disheartening when elected officials use their offices to glorify the legacies of slavery. In recent […]
Martin Luther King Jr., prisons, and the 13th Amendment
In 1963, Martin Luther King wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which, more than sixty years later, speaks eloquently to the issues of that time and today. Dr. King’s compelling discourse, written from the confines of a jail cell, aligns with the prison epistles of St. Paul and the writings of visionary figures like Thoreau, […]
What will it take to outlaw slavery in the U.S.?
“I spent 25 years in slavery. It was traumatizing, it was painful, physically and mentally. I felt sub-human, demeaned, socially dead.” – Curtis Ray Davis II, Executive Director of Decarcerate Louisiana, and formerly incarcerated A staggeringly disproportionate number of Black Americans are part of the estimated 2 million people incarcerated in the United States right […]
Our message to Congress to abolish slavery
Freedom United joins a national coalition launching the #EndTheException campaign fighting to abolish constitutional slavery and involuntary servitude in all forms, for all people. Together with over 70 national organizations, we sent a joint letter to Congress, addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, endorsing the recently introduced Abolition Amendment and urging immediate […]