California
A Future Without Involuntary Servitude? In California, It's Long Overdue | KQED
In the past, I interviewed a woman who repaired the industrial-sized laundry dryers at the California Institution for Women in Chino while incarcerated. While teaching at Vacaville’s California Medical Facility, I met a man who did landscaping in front of the prison’s religious buildings. There’s a meat cutting facility at Mule Creek State Prison, and a poultry processing enterprise at Avenal State Prison.
Behind bars in California, people make everything from socks to American flags.
There’s plenty of potential occupations for people who are incarcerated. Some jobs are underpaid, and some don’t pay at all. But legally, every able-bodied person is supposed to work. It’s written in the state’s constitution as a form of “involuntary servitude” — or, as many see it: slavery.
This fall, if passed by voters, Prop. 6 would amend the state’s constitution to no longer require people who are incarcerated to work. Finally, 160 years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, we have the opportunity to put an end to a direct remnant of this country’s most inhumane system.
How did we get here? Let’s start at the top: the federal government. As you might have learned in history class, the 13th Amendment ended slavery, right? Well, no.
It states:
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
That exception (“except as punishment for crime”) creates a loophole for states to force people who are incarcerated to work without compensation.
The application of this exception varies from state to state. California is one of eight states where involuntary servitude is still a legal form of punishment for a crime. (There are eight other states where it’s explicitly stated that “slavery,” verbatim, is a legal punishment for a crime.)
With nearly 200,000 people behind bars, California has the most populous incarceration system of all 16 states where this form of punishment is legal. That massive amount of people working for free, or in some cases a few cents per hour, plays a valuable part in the Golden State’s economic system — one that generates the third-highest GDP in the United States.
Now consider that African Americans account for nearly one-third of all incarcerated people, but only 5% of the state’s total population. Do you start to see how slavery, far from being abolished, is actually alive and well?
“W
e’re not just simply trying to change the language,” says Paul Briley, Executive Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, of involuntary servitude. “We want to change the practice.”
During a recent video chat, Briley gave me a bit of a history lesson on the roots of the issue in California.
It starts with California’s first governor, Peter Hardeman Burnett, a noted racist and slave owner originally from Tennessee. Burnett got into California politics on the tail end of the Gold Rush, after leaving Oregon, where he was also politically involved. While in Oregon, he helped the state legislature establish a lash law, which required people of African descent to leave the state or else face punishment in the form of whippings.
“(Burnett) wanted to create a white-only west,” says Briley, adding that Burnett also advocated for California’s Fugitive Slave Law, which put Black residents who’d escaped slavery at high risk of being sent back to Southern slave states. The underlying ambition of the law, Briley says, was to keep this new state’s Black population to a minimum.
In 1852, the same year California passed its Fugitive Slave Law, the state also established its first mainland prison, San Quentin.
“There’s a direct correlation between slavery and mass incarceration,” notes Briley. And so — aiming to abolish not just the language but the practice — “that’s at the core of our mission: dismantling the entire prison industrial complex.”
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — Two Republican candidates seeking California’s top office were back on the campaign trail and made a stop in Bakersfield on Saturday.
The California Young Republicans and Kern County Young Republicans co-hosted a forum featuring Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton. The event follows two gubernatorial debates last month in which both candidates appeared alongside several Democrats.
The forum happened on Saturday afternoon at the Liberty Center on California Ave.
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The forum came as mail voting is underway ahead of California’s June 2 primary, where the top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election regardless of party.
A 13-year-old boy riding an electric motorcycle in Garden Grove died after veering into the center median, flying into the air and then slamming onto the roadway, authorities said.
The crash took place shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday in the area of Magnolia Street and Larson Avenue, according to the Garden Grove Police Department. The Police Department received word of the incident via a call from Life360, a family safety and location-sharing app with emergency assistance features.
The Santa Ana teen was critically wounded in the crash, police said. He was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The boy was traveling at around 35 mph on a black E Ride Pro electric motorcycle when he struck the median and lost control of the vehicle, according to authorities. Electric motorcycles are primarily designed for off-road riding and are not legal to use on California roadways.
The teen’s death is the latest in a spate of serious collisions involving electric motorcycles and dirt bikes — some of which have led to serious injuries, death or charges for parents who allegedly allowed their minors to illegally ride the speedy devices.
An Orange County mother was charged with involuntary manslaughter last week after authorities said an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran died from injuries he suffered when her 14-year-old son slammed into him while riding an e-motorcycle, then fled the scene.
In April, a Yorba Linda father was charged with felony child endangerment after authorities alleged his son ran a red light and was hit by a car while riding a modified e-motorcycle capable of reaching up to 60 mph.
Last week, a 19-year-old riding an e-motorcycle was arrested on suspicion of felony evading police and felony reckless driving. He was accused of leading sheriff’s deputies on a speedy chase through a residential area of Oceanside, blowing past multiple red lights and knocking a deputy off a motorcycle.
Electric bikes, motorcycles and dirt bikes have surged in popularity in recent years and are especially popular among teens. However, while e-bikes generally top out at 28 mph and are legal to ride on the street, many e-motorcycles can go twice as fast and are generally not street legal.
Anyone who witnessed Thursday’s crash in Garden Grove or has a video of the incident is asked to contact Investigator Lang via phone at (714) 741-5823 or email at mlang@ggcity.org.
Top moments from CNN California governor debate recap
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Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that newborn babies in California will start receiving free diapers as part of a new “first-in-the-nation” initiative to support families across the state with the rising cost of living.
Newsom, along with state leaders, met in San Francisco on Friday, May 8 to unveil California’s new partnership with Baby2Baby, a national nonprofit that provides diapers to children in need, and to explain how this new program will provide families with 400 “high-quality” diapers before they leave the hospital.
Over the last six years, families have seen the average cost of diapers increase by 45% or “thousands plus dollars a year,” which has made raising a family unattainable for some, Newsom said during the press conference.
“Every baby born in California deserves a healthy start in life — and that means making sure parents have the basics they need from day one,” Newsom said. “One out of four families skip meals in order to pay for diapers.”
“The biggest problem defined universally, in our cities, our state and our nation, is the issue of affordability. This is what affordability looks like; it’s not a slogan, it’s a box. A box of diapers,” Newsom added.
This new effort will be known as Golden State Start, as California uses its bulk purchasing power to obtain 40 million high-quality diapers in hopes of easing financial strain for families and supporting infant health by helping parents maintain an adequate supply of clean diapers.
“The first days at home with a newborn should be focused on the love, connection, and joy of an expanded family, not stress about affording diapers,” said Kim Johnson, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency. “This program helps ensure families can begin that journey with greater stability and peace of mind.”
The program is expected to start at the beginning of this summer in participating California hospitals. The list of participating hospitals was not released at the time of publication, but Newsom noted that the state was in talks with at least 60 hospitals across California.
During the first year of the program, CalRx and Baby2Baby noted that they would prioritize hospitals that serve large numbers of Medi-Cal patients to ensure low-income families benefit early from the program. The state plans to scale the program to additional hospitals and birthing centers over time.
Newsom noted that this program is expected to grow: In 2027, the state is set to purchase 80 million diapers from manufacturers, with the goal of eventually purchasing up to 160 million.
“California families deserve to feel supported during one of life’s more exciting, yet vulnerable transitions,” Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the first partner, said in a press release. “Golden State Start will deliver immediate relief, allowing parents to focus on what matters most — caring for their newborn. Together with Baby2Baby, we can ease the financial burden on California parents while supporting healthier outcomes for babies and their mothers.”
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.
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