On February 22nd, The Office of Government and Community Affairs held a panel discussion with experts to begin the conversation about this process for criminal justice change. The goal of the dialogue was to develop strategies that will increase public awareness, fuel public discourse, and build momentum to amend the 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution.
AMEND THE 13TH is a national call for fresh thinking about criminal law and policy which places at its center the violence, degradation, trauma and dehumanization inflicted on communities that are targeted by our “criminal injustice system.” Now is the time for those who believe in democratic justice and full citizenship for all Americans to demand that the 13th Amendment’s Punishment Clause be removed from the U.S. Constitution.
The discussion included:
- Flores A. Forbes, Associate Vice President Strategic Policy and Program Implementation in the Office of Government & Community Affairs at Columbia University, began the discussion with remarks from his 2016 book Invisible Men: A Contemporary Slave Narrative in the Era of Mass Incarceration, which discusses the 13th Amendment, Black Men returning to society after prison and the framing of the exception clause by Thomas Jefferson. (He is formerly incarcerated.)
- Sheena Wright, President and CEO United Way of New York City is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School. She expanded on the United Way literacy campaign and the historical connection of literacy to slavery, emancipation and the contemporary carceral state.
- Kendall Thomas is the Nash Professor of Law and the Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Culture at Columbia University. As one of the originators of this campaign and a constitutional scholar, he discussed the exception clause itself as well as the process of amending the 13th Amendment.
- Mika’il DeVeaux, Ph.D., is the founder of Citizens Against Recidivism and a lecturer at Nassau Community College (SUNY). He served 25 years in prison and since his release in 2003 has dedicated his research and activism to helping the formerly incarcerated, with a major focus on amending the exception clause of the 13th Amendment.
The event was sponsored by Citizens Against Recidivism, United Way of New York City, Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion, Office of University Life, The Center for Justice at Columbia University, Institute for Research in African-American Studies, The Center for the Study of Law and Culture, The Forum at Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs Diversity Committee. More information about the event can be found by visiting gca.columbia.edu/amendthe13th. To learn more about related efforts throughout Columbia University visit the GCA Criminal Justice Change page. If you would like to get more involved with this campaign, please contact Flores A. Forbes, AVP Strategic Policy & Program Implementation.