Why does American society remain so deeply implicated in the enslavement of Black Americans? Slavery was never abolished in the United States, and today it enjoys widespread support among both Republicans and Democrats. Almost 800,000 people are subject to the conditions of prison slavery, but this estimate is almost certainly low, as the lack of reliable data means that it “excludes people confined in local jails or detention centers, juvenile correctional facilities, and immigration detention facilities.” This system, supported and perpetuated by both halves of the ruling class, is an extension of the country’s history of racism and chattel slavery, a way to reinstitute slavery within a legal framework that loudly insists it has been abolished.

David S. D’Amato March 06, 2025

Read the full story here CounterPunch

Author Profile

UB Center for Urban Studies

Latest entries

• White Supremacy07/06/2026“What to the Slave Is the 4th of July?”: James Earl Jones Reads Frederick Douglass’s Historic Speech
• Constitutional History07/03/2026The Founders Never Meant the US to Be a Democracy
• Immigration Enforcement06/29/2026In “Devastating” Immigration Ruling, Supreme Court Allows Trump Admin to “Turn Back” Asylum Seekers
• Border Security06/25/2026Trump Holds Housing Affordability Bill Hostage To Pressure Congress On Elections