Discussion Questions
How did the wording of the Thirteenth Amendment provide a caveat to re-implement slavery within the Southern states?
Should convicts be deprived of all constitutional rights? Do convictions other than murder warrant the loss of all human rights and protections guaranteed by the Constitution?
How were the existence of peonage and the emergence of the convict leasing system evidence that slavery had merely evolved and had been incorporated by other institutions?
Who becomes the voice for convicts once they have been marginalized from all social institutions? How can we compare convicts to the former slaves?
How does marginalization and the loss of constitutional rights allow for the justification of abuse and the growth of rampant corruption within the criminal justice system?
What role does cultural ideology and practice, i.e., (white supremacy and white backlash) play in the formation of restrictive laws and in the subjugation of blacks?
How can we adequately address and dismantle institutional and structural racism in America?