Juneteenth motivates senators to consider action.
Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Representative Nikema Williams of Georgia have used the first federal celebration of Juneteenth to resurrect efforts to revise the 13th Amendment. “At the moment that we are celebrating, if you will, the 13th Amendment and the end of slavery… we should at the same time recognize that the 13th Amendment was flawed,” Senator Merkley said.
The current iteration of the 13th Amendment abolishes slavery, except in the case of criminal punishment. Today, companies such as McDonald’s, Boeing, and Wal-Mart use American prison labor to process meat, create airplane parts, and sew clothing for extremely low wages. Senator Merkley and Representative Williams hope to get bipartisan support for revising the amendment to close this legal loophole.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Congress members to seek God’s direction as they consider revising the 13th Amendment.
- For wisdom for appropriate actions to be taken with regard to prison reform.
Sources: AP, NPR
