Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 and the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified in December 1865 effectively abolishing slavery, apparently it continues unchecked in the United states through the prison system.
Samuel Sinyangwe expatiates below:
I thought I understood racism and mass incarceration. But nothing prepared me for what I saw in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (1/x)
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
Some background: Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the *world.* Within that, black people are locked up at much higher rates. pic.twitter.com/Wcc85JCOwM
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
So I was in theory prepared to see some things. I just didn't know what I would see or how I would experience it.
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
First thing I did in Baton Rouge was attend a meeting at state capitol building. I didn't take pics, so I'm using online pics to illustrate. pic.twitter.com/WVb2is9mPb
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
I didn't take pictures. But pictures are available online. Here are some. pic.twitter.com/Nzd9Wg67TR
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
There was also a correctional guard "overseeing" them. A white man. Overweight. It was straight out of a movie on slavery.
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
The white (almost all Republican) legislators work to maintain this system while black prisoners are right there. Watching. Working.
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
But it goes deeper. They also work in the governor's mansion. You know, the one that looks like this. pic.twitter.com/S3GPgE3t65
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
I'm still processing the experience. This was, to me, surreal. Black folks I talked to were matter of fact, unfazed. It's the reality there.
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
Of course, that's the tip of the iceberg. Can go much deeper. Lookup Angola state penitentiary in Louisiana and its history, for example. pic.twitter.com/zwc4ZGgByc
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
Here's an article on the work the prisoners do there. The title tells you a lot about the mindset there. In 2017. https://t.co/m7NmCYXr5X
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017
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