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Colorado Voters to Consider Banning Slavery
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “…Slavery is still legal in the United States, so long as it is pursuant to a criminal conviction and if it is limited to compulsory uncompensated labor — and indeed that is precisely the system America maintains today…” — Randal John Meyer, legal associate in the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies.
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
Freedom is on the ballot in Colorado this November.
Voters in the Centennial State must decide on changing the language in the state’s constitution so that it no longer allows slavery as a form of punishment.
Over 15 state constitutions in the United States permit slavery as a way of legal punishment for those who’ve committed a crime, despite the 13th Amendment being ratified in 1865.
The unclear wording in Colorado’s constitution means “slavery and involuntary servitude may not be fully unconstitutional” according to the state’s ACLU chapter executive director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, via the Atlanta Black Star.
Article II, Section 26 of Colorado’s constitution reads that there “shall never be in this state either slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”
However, voters will be given an opportunity to change the language of the state’s constitution so that slavery is no longer allowed as punishment.
A similar measure failed in Colorado two years ago.
Residents will be given two options, to keep Article II Section 26 of the state’s constitution, or choose Amendment A which will change the diction to, “There shall never be in this state either slavery or involuntary servitude.”
Jumoke Emery of Abolish Slavery Colorado told CNN that voters almost got the amendment to pass two years ago, but blamed the legislators’ terminology for the outcome of the vote.
“I hope that this puts forth the message that our past doesn’t have to be our future, that by and large we as Americans are interested in fixing our mistakes and that there’s hope for our future,” Emery told the news outlet.
Those who are against amending the constitution say it’s not necessary because Colorado already bans slavery. They also argue that certain prisoner programs could be affected.
When most Americans learn about the 13th Amendment in high school, the teacher will cursorily remark that “the 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States,” and move on to the 14th Amendment, Randal John Meyer, a legal associate in the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies, wrote in an editorial.
“This oversimplification is a fiction. Slavery is still legal in the United States, so long as it is pursuant to a criminal conviction and if it is limited to compulsory uncompensated labor — and indeed that is precisely the system America maintains today,” Meyer said.
The 13th Amendment, as enacted, reads “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.”
Meyer argued that slavery is neither a cruel nor unusual punishment according to the Supreme Law of the Land, nor historically has it been considered that.
In the 1700s and early 1800s, Americans viewed compulsory labor as a way to fight vagrancy and to rehabilitate such idleness, he said.
However, the states began to understand the potential for revenue generation from prisons in the 1800s – compulsory labor and the sale of prison products became a means to offset state costs.
To be sure, the Virginia Supreme Court in Ruffin v. Commonwealth (1871) declared that prisoners were the “slaves of the State” within a compulsory labor system.
This “Punishments” clause allowed for the birth of the “convict-lease” system in the South after the war. Many Southern states passed anti-vagrancy “black codes,” criminalizing the status of being unemployed. Citing cost reasons, states would then lease out their prisoners to private persons to work under slave-like conditions.
As Frederick Douglass noted, “companies assume charge of the convicts, work them as cheap labor and pay the states a handsome revenue for their labor. Nine[-]tenths of these convicts are Negroes.”
Since the 1860s, courts have interpreted the 13th Amendment as it plainly reads. “Once individuals have been duly tried, convicted, sentenced, and imprisoned, courts will not find 13th Amendment violations where prison rules require inmates to work.”
The compensation of prison labor today reflects this history.
In Georgia and Texas, the maximum wage in dollars per day is $0.
In Nevada, prisoners make $0.13 an hour.
The average wage is between $0.93 a day and $4.93 a day – less than an hour of work at minimum wage. Conservative estimates put the value of output from prison labor at $2 billion annually.
Indeed, much like the Southern states claimed after the Civil War, “states facing growing budget deficits are increasingly turning to inmate labor to produce additional revenue, or at a minimum, offset the cost of imprisonment.”
At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons.
“While amending the Constitution to fix a $2 billion a year compulsory labor industry is politically unlikely, Congress may take measures to ensure that rehabilitative compulsory labor is not uncompensated, like compelling the payment of a federal minimum wage,” Meyer argued.
“State legislatures also could apply minimum wage rules to prisoners,” he said.
Removing the wording from the Colorado constitution “closes the door on the possibility of future abuses, and it also sends a positive message in a time of great division in our nation,” Woodliff-Stanley of the ACLU said.
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Defender ONE-on-ONE: U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee
Rep. Christian Menefee shares insights on his first 250 days in Congress, key legislation, and the challenges of serving in the minority. Don’t miss this exclusive interview!
In an exclusive interview with The Defender, Texas Congressman Christian Menefee sits down to reflect on his first 250 days serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congressman Menefee shares key insights into his legislative priorities, introducing new bills, and navigating the day-to-day challenges of serving in the house minority. He breaks down why every vote matters in shaping our communities and offers a preview of the urgent legislative issues he plans to tackle next.

In this video, you’ll hear about: • Reflections on his first 250 days in Congress • Key legislation introduced and priority bills • Navigating the realities and strategy of serving in the house minority • Why civic engagement and voter participation remain critical • What lies ahead on his legislative agenda

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Chapters
0:00 Introduction and the Importance of Voting
1:12 First 250 Days and Improving Constituent Services
2:40 Oversight Committee and Environmental Justice
4:05 Rebuilding an Empty Congressional Office
6:10 The SET Act: Ending Vacancies in Representation
8:25 Life in the Minority and Playing Defense
10:45 Foreign Policy, Inflation, and Gas Prices
12:50 Economic Goals: Child Care and Housing
14:20 Redistricting and Respecting Leadership
16:15 The Rotisserie Chicken Vote and SNAP Benefits
18:20 Congressional Black Caucus Highlights
19:45 Final Call to Action for Texas Voters
Make sure to check your voter registration status and head to the polls to make your voice heard in the upcoming election. If you found this update helpful, please like this video and subscribe to stay informed on the issues that matter most to your community. 📢
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Bakersfield News Observer
News Observer Weekly — October 7, 2026 | Top 5 Stories of the Week
Nolan Wells’ mysterious death remains unsolved, while Kern County ballots are now in voters’ hands. This week’s top 5 stories, up now on News Observer Weekly.
Nolan Wells was eighteen. A Mississippi grand jury says nobody is responsible for his death. The state medical examiner says she can’t tell you how he died. The district attorney’s message to the family was, we’ll never know. The family’s answer was, we’ll never stop.
This week on News Observer Weekly, Marcus and Nia break down the five stories that mattered most to our readers — from Observer Group Newspapers, publishers of the Bakersfield News Observer, the Los Angeles News Observer and Valley’s News Observer, serving Kern County, Los Angeles, and the San Fernando and Antelope valleys.
ONE THING THIS WEEK
Kern County ballots started going out Oct. 5. When yours arrives: fill it out,
SIGN AND DATE THE ENVELOPE (unsigned ballots cannot be processed), and return it
by mail (no stamp, postmarked by Nov. 3) or to a 24-hour drop box by 8 p.m. on
Nov. 3. Not registered? The regular deadline is Oct. 19; same-day registration
is available in person after that through Election Day. Track your ballot with
“Where’s My Ballot” at kernvote.com. Kern County Elections: 661-868-3590.
NOW LAW
AB 2599, the Truth in Disclosure Act, signed Sept. 30. California is the first
state to require companies with $100 million or more in worldwide receipts to
disclose, under penalty of perjury, whether they or their predecessors profited
from chattel slavery.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold open
0:37 Justice: Rulings Leave Questions Lingering in Nolan Wells Case
3:25 Sacramento: Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Requiring Large Corporations to Disclose Profits From Chattel Slavery
5:55 Inglewood: Inglewood Shifts $2.8 Million in HOME-ARP Funds to Sankofa Place Affordable Housing Project
8:34 Kern County: Your Ballot Is in the Mail: Here Is What Kern County Voters Need to Know
10:21 Los Angeles: Mayor Bass Hosts 3rd Annual Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Procurement Summit to Prepare Small Businesses for LA28 Contracts
12:22 What to do this week
THE FULL STORIES
Rulings Leave Questions Lingering in Nolan Wells Case
2. Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Requiring Large Corporations to Disclose Profits From Chattel Slavery
Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Requiring Large Corporations to Disclose Profits From Chattel Slavery
3. Inglewood Shifts $2.8 Million in HOME-ARP Funds to Sankofa Place Affordable Housing Project
Inglewood Shifts $2.8 Million in HOME-ARP Funds to Sankofa Place Affordable Housing Project
4. Your Ballot Is in the Mail: Here Is What Kern County Voters Need to Know
Your ballot is in the mail. Here is what Kern County voters need to know
5. Mayor Bass Hosts 3rd Annual Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Procurement Summit to Prepare Small Businesses for LA28 Contracts
If you are in crisis, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free and available 24 hours a day, by call or text.
Read everything at ognsc.com
Subscribe for the top five, every week.
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Antron Brown’s impact reaches beyond the finish line. See how the racing star is taking his success beyond the track.
Read more: https://www.stlamerican.com/sports/antron-brown-takes-racing-success-beyond-the-track/
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Featured
Headlines and Hot Topics with Rodney Perry
Get the scoop on today’s hottest stories with Rodney Perry on Black Press USA’s Morning Show. Don’t miss the conversation behind the headlines!
Today on Black Press USA’s Morning Show, we’re breaking down the stories driving the conversation.
Watch Black Press USA’s Morning Show for the headlines, the context, and the conversation behind the news.
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Headlines and Hot Topics with Rodney Perry 📱
Rodney Perry tackles today’s hot topics on Black Press USA’s Morning Show. Don’t miss the breakdown of the stories everyone’s talking about.
Today on Black Press USA’s Morning Show, we’re breaking down the stories driving the conversation.
Watch Black Press USA’s Morning Show for the headlines, the context, and the conversation behind the news.
#BlackPressUSA #MorningShow #BlackNews
Art
Houston’s ‘call Me Mother’ Exhibit Opens Today, Spotlighting Black Maternal Health
AFRICAN-AMERICAN NEWS AND ISSUES – DALLAS — The Health Museum in Houston today opens “The Call Me Mother Experience,” an exhibition spotlighting Black maternal health through art and personal storytelling. Curated by Houston’s first Black poet laureate, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, the project originated from her own poem written during a miscarriage.
HOUSTON — A new exhibition opening Sunday, Oct. 4, at The Health Museum is bringing Black maternal health into public view through art and personal storytelling.
The Call Me Mother Experience will be on display through Feb. 28, 2027. The museum lists a preview reception today from 3 to 5 p.m. at 1515 Hermann Drive, with tickets priced at $5 for members and $15 for nonmembers.
A personal story becomes a community conversation
According to the museum, founder, curator and lead artist Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton developed the project from a poem she wrote during a miscarriage. The installation combines films, recorded interviews, visual artwork and contributions created with community members.
Mouton, Houston’s first Black poet laureate, discussed the exhibition and her connection to its subject in an Oct. 1 appearance on KPRC’s Houston Life. The station described the project as addressing the unequal burden of pregnancy-related illness and death faced by Black women in Harris County.
An announcement distributed by the Call Me Mother Experience says the initiative will also reach community locations and faith-based organizations across Greater Houston. Those additional settings are intended to extend the conversation beyond a museum visit.
What visitors can expect
The museum says reception guests can explore the exhibit, hear the curator and meet participating artists. Reception admission includes general museum entry; refreshments are available while supplies last.
The featured image accompanying this article is an original illustrative concept, not a photograph of the exhibition or its artwork.
Sources and visitor information:The Health Museum exhibition listing; preview reception details and tickets; KPRC Houston Life; organizer announcement.
The post Houston’s ‘Call Me Mother’ Exhibit Opens Today, Spotlighting Black Maternal Health appeared first on African American News and Issues.
Based on reporting by African-American News and Issues – Dallas.
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