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This essay examines the current state of the U.S. prison system by historicizing it within the post-emancipation South. By concentrating on the history of the post-emancipation South and its prison system as it relates to African Americans, this essay aims to show how anti-black racism has been re-instituted in the current era of incarceration. I do this by emphasizing the racial dimension of the prison system, focusing on the State of Georgia, which historically has subjugated African Americans via slavery, Black codes, and Jim Crow laws. Moreover, I argue that Georgia's post-emancipation criminal justice system, exemplified by the convict-lease system, contributes to its current state of incarceration, and should be understood as part of the legacies of the social and economic functions of slavery.
The Civil War brought an end to the institutionalized enslavement of African Americans, yet through the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and various legal practices the current prison system has manifested itself into an institution of forced labor, which is increasingly being comprised of people of color. As such, this essay examines the material conditions that existed during the post-emancipation era in order to expose the racialized historical continuities of the prison system thereby demonstrating the way in which laws have in fact helped to create a racially unequal criminal justice system. By concentrating on the history of the post-emancipation South and its prison system as it relates to African Americans, this essay aims to illuminate how anti-black racism is central to the current era of incarceration. I do this by emphasizing the racial dimension of the prison system, focusing on the state of Georgia, which historically has subjugated African Americans via slavery. Black codes, and Jim Crow laws. Moreover, I argue that Georgia's post-emancipation criminal justice system contributes to its current state of incarceration, and should be understocxl as part of the legacies of the social and economic functions of slavery.
The paper is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the current state of the prison system, specifically the conditions in the state of Georgia. The second section traces the historical development of the racialized prison system by examining the 13th Amendment and the ambiguous definition of criminality. I then delineate the rise of the...