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


  • Call for a General Strike Beginning May 1st
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Call for a General Strike Beginning May 1st
    06 Apr 2020
    Cooperation Jackson, based in Jackson, Mississippi, issued the call and list of demands to protect the people from both the virus and disaster capitalism.
  • “The American Disease”: Only the Overthrow of the Oligarchy Will Cure It
    Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    “The American Disease”: Only the Overthrow of the Oligarchy Will Cure It
    02 Apr 2020
    Although the coronavirus provided the trigger for the current global shrinkage, the economic crisis was already looming when the pathogen made its physical appearance.
  • Freedom Rider: COVID-19 and Black Workers
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: COVID-19 and Black Workers
    01 Apr 2020
    The gross inequalities and declining standards of life in the US are magnified by the corona crisis, pushing already marginalized populations to the brink.
  • China and Cuba’s Medical Internationalism is a Shining Example of Global Solidarity
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    China and Cuba’s Medical Internationalism is a Shining Example of Global Solidarity
    01 Apr 2020
    China sends medical equipment abroad, Cuba sends doctors and cutting-edge drugs, but the US fails to provide its people, doctors and nurses with basic tools and protection.
  • Pentagon Orders All Installations to Stop Reporting COVID-19 Infections and Deaths 
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Pentagon Orders All Installations to Stop Reporting COVID-19 Infections and Deaths 
    01 Apr 2020
    This is going to become a problem for the Pentagon, whether it's on Navy destroyers, submarines, and aircraft carriers or the 800+ bases.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us