Savvy Shabazz on ending indentured servitude in Kentucky prisons

“During the six and a half years Savvy Shabazz [Leading with Conviction™ 2023] spent incarcerated in nine Kentucky institutions, he worked for as little as 63 cents a day.

“Now, he and others are pushing for an amendment to modernize Kentucky’s Constitution, which currently permits slavery and indentured servitude for people convicted of crimes.

We don’t want to be a slave state.

“Ratified in 1891, Chapter 25 of Kentucky’s Constitution states that ‘slavery and involuntary servitude in this state are forbidden, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.’

“‘The presence of the slavery clause and involuntary servitude in Kentucky’s Constitution perpetuate a painful legacy of oppression and dehumanization,’ Shabazz, whom Gov. Andy Beshear pardoned in 2020, said during a Frankfort press conference.

“‘It serves as a stark reminder of a dark chapter in our nation’s history when the fundamental rights of certain individuals like myself was systematically denied based on race,’ Shabazz said. …

“Doing demolition work in Louisville for 60 cents a day put him at risk of long-term fallout, he said.

“‘Part of reentry into our society is to make sure that we are prepared to take care of ourselves and our families. So pay us a livable wage,’ he said. ‘What happens if I lose a limb while building or working inside of the institution? How will I take care of myself and my family once I’m released? If we’re really talking about reentry, we have to remove that involuntary servitude and slavery clause and do what’s right in Kentucky.’

“He sees Brown’s House Bill 121 as a ‘segue’ into larger prison reform because, he said, ‘we don’t want to be a slave state.’”

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