Edward Henderson | California Black Media
Proposition (Prop) 6 would repeal language in the CaliforniaConstitution that prohibits “involuntary servitude except to punishcrime.”Instead, it will replace it with language that prohibits slavery andinvoluntary servitude absolutely.The amendment would also prohibit the California Department ofCorrections and Rehabilitation from disciplining any incarcerated personfor refusing a work assignment and authorize the department to awardtime credits to incarcerated persons who voluntarily participate in workassignments.To gain a greater understanding of the proposition and the experience ofincarcerated individuals impacted by the current language, CaliforniaBlack Media spoke with Dr. Tanisha Cannon, Managing Director ofLegal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC).The LSPC organizes communities impacted by the criminal justicesystem and advocates to release incarcerated people, to restore humanand civil rights, and to reunify families and communities. They alsobuild public awareness of structural and systemic racism in policing, thecourts, and the prison system, and aim to advance racial and genderjustice in their work.“There are really two main messages for this to be a yes vote,” saidCannon. “The way that the Constitution names what’s going on in theseprisons is called involuntary servitude. Involuntary servitude is justanother name for slavery. That means that there’s a force and there’scoercion. People don’t have autonomy over their bodies or theirdecisions: if they even want to work. So, the main message here is thatinvoluntary servitude is slavery.”
The LSPC also facilitates focus groups to gain understanding on howindividuals who have not been impacted by the prison-industrialcomplex view the involuntary servitude currently utilized.“They’re like, ‘Oh, people are in prison; they do the crime; they shoulddo the time.’ That has nothing to do with bodily autonomy. You shouldstill be able to make decisions — if you want to work or an option maybeif you want to go to school instead or maybe if you want to take angermanagement classes instead you should have the choice to create whatyou believe is your rehabilitative process.”So far, eight states, including California, have made provisions in theirconstitutions permitting involuntary servitude, but not slavery, as acriminal punishment. According to the National Conference of StateLegislatures, 34 states have “earned time” credits that are awarded forparticipating in or completing education, vocational training, treatment,and work programs. Time credits can later be applied towards earlyrelease from secure custody.The Anti-Recidivism Coalition has also been on record supporting Prop6, stating that, “More than 94,000 Californians are currently enslaved instate prison. African Americans account for 28% of the prisonpopulation despite making up less than 6% of California’s overallpopulation. Although no courts explicitly order forced labor as a part ofcriminal sentencing, it’s standard practice to force incarcerated people toperform labor.”Of those roughly 90,000 inmates, the state’s prison system employsnearly 40,000 who complete a variety of tasks including cleaning,cooking, firefighting, construction and yard work. Most of these workersearn less than 74 cents an hour, excluding the firefighters who can makeup to $10 a day. State law permits the corrections department to pay upto half of the current minimum wage in California ($16).
Eighty percent of the employees at LSPC have been directly impactedby the prison-industrial complex. Cannon’s brother works there as welland was in prison at the age of 16 experiencing first-hand how forcedlabor can negatively impact an individual’s psyche.“My grandmother passed away and he received that news in the evening.On the outside, you’d get some grieving time. That wasn’t the case forhim,” said Cannon.“He had to wake up at five o’clock the next morning. So, imaginelearning that the woman who raised you just passed away. You’re due forwork at 5 a.m. in the morning to operate heavy machinery and youcannot say that you don’t want to work because there’s no excusedabsence in prison.”So far, there hasn’t been any organized opposition to Prop 6 inCalifornia.A “yes” vote supports amending the state constitution to prohibit slaveryand involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime and authorize theDepartment of Corrections and Rehabilitation to award credits toincarcerated persons who voluntarily participate in work assignments.A “no” vote opposes amending the state constitution to prohibit slaveryand involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.
