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


  • Palestinian flag
    The Editors
    Palestine 2023: Black Agenda Report Special Issue
    18 Oct 2023
    Black Agenda Report gives special attention to events in Palestine, as Israel continues its occupation of Gaza and practices the war crime of exacting collective punishment on a civilian population.
  • Not today colonizer
    Too Black
    Statement: We Condemn Your Condemnation
    18 Oct 2023
    The colonized and the marginalized are often condemned by the same forces that oppress them, or they are asked to utter condemnation at the whims of their rulers. 
  • Black Agenda Report Logo
    The Editors
    Black Agenda Report Returns with a New Site
    10 Oct 2023
    The Black Agenda Report editorial team is grateful to our readers for their support and patience. Last week we were unable to publish BAR due to circumstances beyond our control.  
  • MLK with text next to him reading "socialism for the rich, rugged individualism for the poor"
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    3rd Reich corporate confederate circus
    10 Oct 2023
    By Raymond Nat Turner, Poet-in-Residence 3rd Reich corporate confederate circus  
  • A police tactical vehicle leaves the scene with officers in fatigues hanging on
    Black Alliance For Peace
    Black Alliance for Peace Baltimore Says No to Cop City
    10 Oct 2023
    The phenomenon of militarized policing is not confined to the city of Atlanta. The city of Baltimore, Maryland is also planning its own "Cop City" and to add insult to injury, affiliating with HBCU…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us