 Good evening. I'm Mark Hughes with the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance executive director and welcome to juxtaposition Tonight's episode running victory laps in a race that's not over Issues affecting black folks black folks affecting change welcome again to juxtaposition our mission here at the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance is to secure sustainable power Ensure agency and provide security for American descendants of slavery while embracing their history and preserving their culture Welcome again. I'm joined this evening This afternoon by Curtis Davis the executive director of Decarcerate Louisiana the author of slave state evidence of apartheid in America I'm also joined. I have the privilege to be joined by Max Parthas the acting director of the Paul Cuffy abolitionist center in Sumter, South Carolina and I'm As well as the national campaign coordinator for the abali slavery national network and the host and Executive co-host and executive director of abolition today in Jamila land and Sam Brown the co-founders of Anti-violence safety and accountability project that is ASAP Chairs of the California abolition act coalition Welcome guests. Thank you all for showing up. It's good to see all of you and I'm looking forward to seeing you guys coming in next weekend Last year Juneteenth was declared a national holiday But how do we reconcile that with the ongoing efforts in Vermont as well as nationally to abolish slavery? Join us as we navigate a discussion to unpack the truth about the US history with slavery and hear from some of these Appalachianists that we have here across the United States on the work that they're doing as well as the work that we're doing here in Vermont here now in 2022 still abolishing slavery So here we are today. We've got a situation or where people are Just making stuff up you hear people telling stories creating Narratives and there's no substance to it whatsoever and a lot of times what we find is is if you say it enough times What will happen is people will begin to believe it I don't know about y'all But when when I look at the news today That's very easy to understand and I think we shouldn't be stupefied by the fact that we're sitting in 2020 and 78% of all of America don't even know that there's an exception clause to slavery in the Constitution itself So Max Parthas, I just wanted to you know Throw bounce that one off of you because I know I got that research information from you. Welcome to the program Where did we get those numbers and how is that playing out at the at the national level? Are those numbers come from a poll done by our Federal partners worth rises and the anchor Thailand So they did an in-depth survey and found that it's 18% of the population knows that there's this Exception clause and this was roughly done a year ago. I suspect that now it's probably closer to about 25% That it's just Stupefying to me because I know even I myself just found out about it But the juxtaposition if you will though is is really all about the idea that we are headed into a National what is now a national holiday? I think we're on slide two We're headed for a national holiday and take a look at this slide as it goes up This came out of senator Merkley's office This came out of senator Merkley's office. I think it was last year and it said this is what it says It says ahead of Juneteenth Merkley and Williams proposed a constitutional amendment to close the slavery loophole in the 13th amendment indisputably racist exception permitting slavery as punishment for a crime Has fueled systemic racism in the criminal justice system for under over a hundred and fifty years The in the thing that I'm seeing I don't know about you or y'all out in Louisiana, Curtis or even over in California Jamilia and and also Sam But the thing that that really is is kind of setting You know kind of setting me off is is the fact that there's so many people who just have no idea That this is I mean, how can you be an abolitionist in Almost 80% of the people that you're in contact with don't even know about or understand what it is that you do Sam and I want to go out to you you out there and and Jamilia as well How have you guys experienced this this movement out there? Maybe you can spend some time telling us a little bit about the work that Y'all are doing in California Okay, peace Mark. So it greens everybody. My name is Sam and Nathaniel Brown I'm the co-chair of the California abolition act coalition along with my wife Jamilia and Also the co-founder of the anti-violent safety and accountability project along with my wife Jamilia So to answer your question about what it has been like out here Many people are surprised. You know when you talk about the 13th amendment It seems like the popular narrative is one where in which slavery was abolished in 1865 And so that's what's told in the schools. That's what all of the you know, the textbooks purport and most people believe that but those textbooks were created by you know Institutions that are historically rooted in Europe your Eurocentric views So they're not going to tell the truth. No one really tells the truth when you get to talk about Harvard and Oxford and all And no one's telling the truth about slavery. So here in California When we talked to many people who've never been in a carceral setting most of the time it's like, oh my gosh I had no idea. Hmm. I didn't know that was still taking place in 2022. How can we be involved? What we can we do then you have though other side, you know, the other folks who like give me a break Slavery doesn't exist. No such thing. It's not happening You know because they're not knowledgeable and they're just speaking from a place of what was told to them rather than what they researched and learned so that's typically the two responses that we get out here in California. And so what we've been doing is seeking to Raise as much awareness around this issue as possible to like make it the new popular narrative one That's rooted in truth because when you talk about Juneteenth when you talk about Reparations and all of these things for us for Jamil you're not in California abolition that coalition. It's all premature How we create a holiday to celebrate the ending of slavery when we still have slavery to this very day How are we talking about reparations? Yeah, you know when you still people would have people in need of manual mittens It hasn't occurred yet. And so that's the discussion that we have in here in California is raising awareness around it that this this travesty does exist and Galvanizing as many people as we can to do the moral and correct things as a as a collective Got a I've got a slot. I think it's the third slot. I have over here It's it's it is the 13th amendment. So for those who are watching I just wanted to you'll bring that one up and give folks a chance to see it because after all we are talking about a You know an institution, you know, that's what a hundred and fifty seven years old and nobody got the memo So just in case you didn't get the memo those of you who are at home just in case you didn't get the memo Here's the memo for you this it says neither slavery nor involuntary servitude Except for as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted shall Exist within United States or a place subject to their jurisdiction So the thing the thing that we have to look at here is is the timeline. So I'm gonna take you over to the timeline maybe three slides over There where it says a brief chronology And I'll see let's see if we can get that up in in the room there and it starts with July 8 1777 is a date that I wanted to share with folks and this again We got the hard thing about the work that we're doing it and I'm sure you would agree Sam and Curtis I know you know out there is is we've got it. We got to be abolitionist abolitionist and instructors at the same time That's that's what's going on. That's what's happening. So each one teach one everybody come along So here's here's the lesson plan for today It was 18 it was 1777 when Vermont's Constitution, which was the first Constitution in the United States history To permit slavery in any form to even use the language It had three exception clauses, but this is the this is the relic. This is the dinosaur This is the first time that a Constitution allowed slavery in any firm in any form rather in the United States So we go on 10 years later then the Constitution was written and and we know that there was in the fourth article of the Constitution there was language of of fugitive slave and Fugitive slave act language and so forth as well as three-fifths, but we won't even get into that But if you just looked on that timeline 1861-63 Civil War you got then you have the 13th Amendment See that's that right There's a contradiction in and of itself because what we're getting ready to celebrate is we're getting ready to celebrate a Holiday that says that slavery is over if it was over in 1863 then why would we need the 13th Amendment in 1865? Huh? Why would we need that? Well, the reason why we would need that is is because it was only over for certain Slave states which were in the stuff in the south and that's where Union soldiers were not occupied But it was not over in the north and it was just to win a war But what we also know is even if it was in 1865 The 13th Amendment never abolished slavery completely But but it goes on it gets even better from there because after the Civil War ends ended and the president was killed as a Result of it. Well, what we see is then there's this this this holiday on Juneteenth this holiday But what's residual what we're not talking about is still the language that exists in our Constitution Which is 245 years old here in the the state of Vermont as well as the language in the 13th Amendment And I wonder and know out there in in Louisiana Curtis if if if is this a phenomenon there as well Are you experiencing challenges with folks run victory laps in the wrong direction while you're just trying to get around the track? In the black community in Louisiana Most people are unaware that slavery has not been abolished In the white community, I found during through our polling data that most 70% of white people do know that slavery in Louisiana still exists But they believe that it is a cultural heritage which they deserve When we talk about these exception clauses, what we have to remember is they were put in place with the specific purpose of marginalizing black people and keeping black people in their place after Reconstruction happened so white people have carried this heritage from Their grandfathers great-grandfathers their fathers letting them know that if you can't be better than these people Then who can you be better than Louisiana is about being better than and heritage is about hereditary And it's about race so white supremacy is what we fight here and Black people in Louisiana seem to be the only people on the battlefield that doesn't know that there's a war going on There is a war going on and and I think that that's kind of a great way to say it I want to just switch over to it like from a United Nations perspective because I know you you spend some time in the United Nations And you I believe you've been up there doing some work So I'm gonna stick with you speaking at the United Nations on police brutality with Fred Hampton, Jr. Sandra Blanz on family Tamir Rice's family and yeah, it was a major opportunity last year now I've got a You know one of the things that that really just drives me up the wall is is folks here in In the state in Vermont and and you know sometimes if somebody says again Like I said at the top of the show somebody says something enough times And yeah, you start to believe it or you know, you got the dog whistles You know, you got the classic all of the gas lighting that's going on folks created narratives Just because of a fear fear of a browning nation fear that somehow or another They're gonna, you know lose ill-gotten gains or something like that, you know I know I know this afternoon I was going to get on a get on a phone call and and try to explain to a reporter You know why our police chief here said certain things, you know that implicated You know black folks is being criminals in our community Here's one thing that I think is important for us as as abolitionists and for for us as activists and you as activists that are watching To I think to this this is something to remember to keep us on point is is they're just trying to get us off our square All they're trying to do is they're just trying to distract us with that nonsense And it's it's kind of working on the other side and it is really white people's job To go and disrupt some of that nonsense some of that that that those dog whistles or fog horns If you will or that that nonsense coming out we haven't you know, there's a we have a difficult enough time Just trying to educate Trying to advocate and trying to eradicate systemic racism So if we get off of our squares and this is something for my brothers and sisters is who are on the call as well We get off our squares what we don't want to do is get so distracted that we're just chasing that nonsense And we don't have time to do our job because we're abolishing slavery That's what we're doing in the last time that happened. There was a civil war So we this is serious business that were that were that were after here We don't want to get distracted and just go talking about why you know somebody's talking about, you know critical race theory or something about you know black identity extremist or Or worse yet, you know Some type of affinity groups and there's some kind of threat So this is the work that we're doing I want to go to our Constitution though because here in Vermont I want to turn to our Constitution if you if if you could bring that constitutional slide up in the control room the Vermont Constitution and slavery so This is so important here at least from our perspective and this is why we're gonna have some folks converging on Vermont I can't wait until you get here Curtis. I'm looking forward to seeing you Over at decarcerate. I'm looking forward to seeing Jamila and and Sam coming in I know max and tribal rain are also coming in as well But what we're gonna be doing is is we are going to be building some activities here in in Vermont around this whole launch of this abolish slavery campaign with the Vermont racial justice alliance our partners for my Interfaith action abolish slavery national network is coming in and we also have faith in action partners So we're at towards the end of this program what we're going to do is we'll share some of that some of that with you The Constitution should be in front of you just want to you know bring up okay a lot of folks are saying well What's the big deal? What's the big deal? I don't understand why? The thing here is is what we have is we have a Constitution that says that people in Vermont could be a slave after they've arrived at the age of 21 years Unless they're bound by their own Consent and after arriving to such age or bound by law for payment debts damages fines costs or the like there It is it's in black and red or black and white if you will it's you know, it's a it's a constitution Slavery is constitutionalized now a lot of folks what they're asking is is you know so what and so I want to you know Go back over to max so what max so it's the slavery language is in a constitution. What's the big deal? It does it doesn't really have any effect does it? Max Parthas Absolutely has already affected the world first of all we're in violation of international treaties simply by allowing Slavery to be legal in any form within our constitutions, whether it be state or federal that is a international crime Particularly through the Declaration of Human Rights in Article 4 where it says a slavery is abolished in all its forms It doesn't say except for America who can use it as a punishment for a crime Also, we know that the history of it when it went from chattel slavery and right after the 13th amendment turned into Convict leasing we see the results of that today where we're still suffering from convict leasing The ACLU is about to release a report on the 15th of this month That's going to go into great detail on how we exploit Prison labor and it's called a captive Captive labor is the title of it. So be on a lookout for that We know that in this country right now Even though black people only make up 13% of the entire population We have more black men in prisons and jails Not even jail just the prisons We have more black men in prisons than the top five populated African nations do combine and they are nearly 100% black men and women They have nearly 600 million people in that total population. We don't have but half of that and we're still More than they are that's ridiculous And also not to mention from the times of convict leasing and tell mass incarceration as we see today Those effects have destroyed communities ruin families killed many Ruined the futures of our children and it's still doing so today right where you're at right now The last reports that I heard is that even though you only have a very small percentage of black people in your States less than 2% You're being incarcerated at 14 to 1 per 100,000 Now, how is that even possible unless your community is a completely surrounded it being targeted? Thanks for that Max. So what are we doing? So let's let's let's take it home I I want to go back out to California and hear from y'all Because one of the things that is important in the work that we do is is we got to stay busy and I want to hear You know, you know what's happening in California out there. What are y'all doing to move the needle? That's a great question. So aside from Reaching out to legislators through our lobbying team. We've also been raising public awareness to do outreach to the universities in the schools and also to the faith-based organizations and the reason why we're doing this mark is because after Assessing history here in California No social movements of this magnitude have been successful without engaging and galvanizing Colleges and universities and or faith-based institutions. So when we talk about same-sex marriages when you talk about ending the Vietnam War Even when you talk about passing tough on crime legislation, you know, they always seek to get involved these institutions or Criminal justice reform, excuse me criminal justice reform. They always engage these institutions So that's something that we're seeking to do here is get the youth involved as well as the the clergy, you know just those who are spiritual and We doing that to By letting them know that first of all slavery never ended and this is immoral and then you all have an opportunity To stand up and be accounted for it's one thing, you know for it to happen And you're blind to the fact you're ignorant of it But once your awareness has been raised of it, then that's a totally different ball game And we make it clear that you know, because some of the people are like, well, why do we care about? Incarcerated people they committed crimes y'all trying to be nice to them now You're trying to get them a decent wage or so forth and so on and the fact of the matter is we're making it also clear that this is a matter of rehabilitation and public safety aside From being an issue of morality for all the humanity to take on Yeah, you know because as long as involuntary servitude is on the books that it takes place It takes precedence excuse me. It takes precedence over rehabilitation It takes precedence over public safety because you have women and men exiting these prisons these plantations Let's prepare to some sites to survive and thrive than they were when they went in You know have worked these jobs for year on top of year on top of year And the only people that are benefiting are the state agencies that contract with the plantations and or the private prison corporations But the people themselves who are actually doing these jobs are working out with no certification No money they're not being allowed to be a factor in the lives of their families And it defeats the entire purpose for why the public thinks that they're there You know in california now say this and i'll be quiet the original reason for the for the penal institution was punishment It was only within the last decade That they actually changed the penal code to say that the reason for incarceration is rehabilitation And then they put the word rehabilitation on the end of california department of corrections but originally it was for punishment and That has been the spirit Of incarceration here for way too long and it prevents people from going in and coming back out Um better versions of themselves in large numbers that they could if this was removed from the books So that's something that we talk a lot about we talk about the fact that it's a moral issue It's for all humanity. It's a public safety issue and it's an issue for rehabilitation also got it. We're right We're writing we're writing headed towards wrap-up and and uh, just wanted to Just shout out for a c a three Moving towards the ballot a constitutional amendment out in the state of california There so there's a lot of work happening out there Brother, uh, davis back to over to you You want to just briefly give us an update on what's going on with your Work to amend the constitution in the state of louisiana I appreciate that opportunity louisiana is the last stronghold of the confederacy. Um, we still have major Issues with white supremacy that is not hidden We have confederate flags all over the state We have resistance from the sheriffs who used to be um the slave catchers patrol society So our history is all about slavery and our Population is a service economy half of our people are locked up and the other half are watching them You understand it So what we have to do is change the whole Concept of our culture here And it's a hard fight and we need the people not just the people of ramon Not just the people of the united states, but we need people Internationally to recognize when you visit new orleans louisiana and you spend your money and you're having fun Know that you're almost in a third world country environment because black people have been marginalized To a level that in even though we live in all of this Technological advanced society with trillions of dollars worth of revenues streaming through it Our people have been redlined and made to be something almost subhuman Based on these laws and it permeate every other policy in our um Society so pay attention to it because it's not just the prisoners that are affected by these slaves. Um, exceptions Okay, let me take you home making to the ballot too, by the way Let me take you home because we got to get out of here gentlemen. Ladies and gentlemen, I really appreciate y'all piece We're looking forward to seeing you if you looking at the if you're looking at that slide deck in the control room time to break the change As we move past the abolish of slavery vermont slide There's a there's a slide. I wanted to just get up for everybody. There's time to break the change This is join the juneteenth uh weekend So I just wanted to make sure everybody got that and in the next slide after that And I'm just talking about control room through these slides. Uh, there there is a um 11 to 2 11 to 2 p.m. On friday That is coming out. We are we are lifting this thing off where folks are coming in from around the united states We're we're lifting this thing off. So this is the lift off. There'll be a press conference at 10 30 A press conference at 10 30 and what's going to happen there is we'll have a barbecue. There'll be food There'll be all kind of stuff and on to the next slide. You'll see that there's a um A spoken word in poetry. Uh, that's going to be pretty tight. It's going to be off the hook I definitely want folks to get there. Uh, we're going to be featuring um I think it's a maximum impact, uh, which is tribal reign and um, and also max parthas That's going to be uh, very very tight. That's going to be uh on over at the richard kim center The next slide after that, uh, which is green is talking about uh sunday, uh, june 19th Just don't forget about uh, 7 30 a.m. Virtual prayer, uh Breakfast breakfast prayer and also tabling In the battery park. We're out of here. Um, go to our website VT racial justice alliance.org You can also catch up with us Over there, uh on abolish slavery vt.org abolish slavery vt.org This is real. We are not playing legacy the legacy of slavery Uh is systemic racism from the constitution. It entrenched itself into our statutes our rules our our institutions So our our penal codes and so forth. So this is this is real work. It's happening all across the nation california, louisiana, vermont, oregon, tennessee, alabama four other states went on the ballot just this last Uh year and there'll probably be 13 next year We're moving to be a state to be a country where for the first time in history We will be a nation where slavery does not exist Finally thank you for showing up. Uh, good evening peace out peace peace right brothers