Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Incarcerated Workers in Alabama File Lawsuit to End Involuntary Servitude
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
10 May 2024
🖨️ Print Article

Black Agenda Radio · Incarcerated Workers in Alabama File Lawsuit to End Involuntary Servitude

Six incarcerated people in the state of Alabama have filed a lawsuit against their governor and the Commissioner of Corrections. Alabama’s prison system is the most overcrowded in the country, where Black people make up 26 percent of the population, but 53 percent of the prison population. Following a successful labor strike by incarcerated workers, Alabama voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that expanded the ban on slavery and involuntary servitude to prison. With their state court lawsuit, the plaintiffs seek enforcement of the amendment. Jessica Vosburgh is a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights which represents the plaintiffs. She joins us from Birmingham, Alabama.

Prison Labor
Alabama prison strike
Center for Constitutional Rights

Related Podcasts

Involuntary servitude is slavery
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Ending Prison Slavery in California
14 June 2024
Dorsey Nunn recently retired as Executive Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (
Black Agenda Radio
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio May 10, 2024
10 May 2024
In this week’s program we discuss a lawsuit filed by incarcerated people in Alabama, asking the state to end involuntary servitude, and also a conv
Black Agenda Radio
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio February 2, 2024
02 February 2024
In this week's segment we hear about abolishing slavery that exists in the incarceration system, and also the second part of our interview on

More Stories


  • The Promise of Street Rebellions
    Russell Rickford
    The Promise of Street Rebellions
    03 Jun 2020
    The flames burned both for Floyd and for the vanishing dream of a moral economy.
  • We Can’t Breathe 
    Dante J. James
    We Can’t Breathe 
    03 Jun 2020
    Can and should America continue to breathe if it continues to suffocate African American people and our communities?
  • Policing in the US is Not About Enforcing Law. It’s About Enforcing White Supremacy
    Paul Butler
    Policing in the US is Not About Enforcing Law. It’s About Enforcing White Supremacy
    03 Jun 2020
    If we had something approaching equal justice, would we still even be the United States? “Mr. Floyd was not human to these officers.”
  • Why Hasn’t Amy Cooper Been Arrested? The Case of Pink Pussy Privilege 
    BAR editor and columnist Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo and Robert Stubblefield
    Why Hasn’t Amy Cooper Been Arrested? The Case of Pink Pussy Privilege 
    03 Jun 2020
    While most advocates focus on police abuse of the black community, we must also hold accountable the people who call police and make false claims against black people.
  • Murder of Black Youth in Rio de Janeiro Shows Racist Nature of Policing in Brazil
    People Dispatch Staff
    Murder of Black Youth in Rio de Janeiro Shows Racist Nature of Policing in Brazil
    03 Jun 2020
    Pandemic or not, Brazilian police kill multiples of Black youth every day of the year. Fourteen year-old João Pedro Mattos Pinto joins the list of tens of thousands.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us