Following the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in 1865, many southern states began to adopt "Black Code" laws, these racially targeted laws were made to criminally prosecute the black population to "return them to chains". The laws proved effective; many black people were incarcerated and subjected to the Convict Lease System, where they were forced into hard labor jobs with little to no pay, inhuman living conditions, and abusive treatment. Black children were also victims of these laws and had to work on plantations as well. This form of legal framework has since been termed as "Slavery by another name". | Source: [1]———. “Convict Leasing.” Equal Justice Initiative, June 3, 2022. https://eji.org/news/history-racial-injustice-convict-leasing/#:~:text=Thousands%20of%20Black%20people%20were,their%20work%20under%20the%20Constitution.%E2%80%9D.Download Original File
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[1]———. “Convict Leasing.” Equal Justice Initiative, June 3, 2022. https://eji.org/news/history-racial-injustice-convict-leasing/#:~:text=Thousands%20of%20Black%20people%20were,their%20work%20under%20the%20Constitution.%E2%80%9D.
