From Convict Leasing to Mass Incarceration
The continuous pipeline from slavery to convict leasing to mass incarceration represents ongoing economic exploitation through the criminal justice system.
Convict Leasing (1865–1940s)
After emancipation, Southern states leased imprisoned FBAs to private companies. States deliberately arrested FBAs on minor charges to supply labor. Conditions were often worse than slavery with higher mortality rates. This system generated significant revenue for states and private companies while maintaining plantation-style labor without legal slavery.
The transition from slavery to convict leasing was seamless and deliberate — the 13th Amendment's exception for 'punishment for crime' created a constitutional loophole that has been exploited continuously.
The War on Drugs
The War on Drugs disproportionately targets FBA communities despite similar usage rates across racial groups. The 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack cocaine (associated with Black users) and powder cocaine (associated with white users) exemplified systematic targeting.
Aggressive policing tactics disrupted community life while mass incarceration removed millions of FBA men from communities, disrupting family structures and economic development.
The 1994 Crime Bill
The Biden-authored Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act institutionalized anti-FBA criminalization through federal policy. Three-strikes laws imposed mandatory life sentences disproportionately affecting FBA men. $9.7 billion was allocated for increased police presence in Black neighborhoods.
The accompanying 'superpredator' propaganda — including Hillary Clinton's 1996 characterization of Black youth as having 'no conscience, no empathy' — provided the rhetorical framework for treating an entire generation as inherently criminal.