By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Proposition (Prop) 6 would repeal language in the California Constitution that prohibits “involuntary servitude except to punish crime.”

Instead, it will replace it with language that prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude absolutely.

The amendment would also prohibit the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from disciplining any incarcerated person for refusing a work assignment and authorize the department to award time credits to incarcerated persons who voluntarily participate in work assignments.

To gain a greater understanding of the proposition and the experience of incarcerated individuals impacted by the current language, California Black Media spoke with Dr. Tanisha Cannon, Managing Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC).

“There are really two main messages for this to be a yes vote,” said Cannon. “The way that the Constitution names what’s going on in these prisons is called involuntary servitude. Involuntary servitude is just another name for slavery. That means that there’s a force and there’s coercion. So, the main message here is that involuntary servitude is slavery.”

So far, eight states, including California, have made provisions in their constitutions permitting involuntary servitude, but not slavery, as a criminal punishment. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 34 states have “earned time” credits that are awarded for participating in or completing education, vocational training, treatment, and work programs. Time credits can later be applied towards early release from secure custody.

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The Anti-Recidivism Coalition has also been on record supporting Prop 6, stating that, “More than 94,000 Californians are currently enslaved in state prison. African Americans account for 28% of the prison population despite making up less than 6% of California’s overall population.”

Of those roughly 90,000 inmates, the state’s prison system employs nearly 40,000 who complete a variety of tasks including cleaning, cooking, firefighting, construction and yard work. Most of these workers earn less than 74 cents an hour, excluding the firefighters who can make up to $10 a day. State law permits the corrections department to pay up to half of the current minimum wage in California ($16).

Eighty percent of the employees at LSPC have been directly impacted by the prison-industrial complex. Cannon’s brother works there as well and was in prison at the age of 16 experiencing first-hand how forced labor can negatively impact an individual’s psyche.

“My grandmother passed away and he received that news in the evening. On the outside, you’d get some grieving time. That wasn’t the case for him,” said Cannon.

“He had to wake up at five o’clock the next morning. So, imagine learning that the woman who raised you just passed away. You’re due for work at 5 a.m. in the morning to operate heavy machinery and you cannot say that you don’t want to work because there’s no excused absence in prison.”

So far, there hasn’t been any organized opposition to Prop 6 in California.

A “yes” vote supports amending the state constitution to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime and authorize the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to award credits to incarcerated persons who voluntarily participate in work assignments.

A “no” vote opposes amending the state constitution to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.

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Oakland – Minister King X, a prison ‘artivist,’ and a civil rights group will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 27 at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) headquarters at 1515 S St. in Sacramento, CA.

Sept. 20, 2024, Minister King, a community organizer with California Prison Focus, and the group All of Us Or None (AOUON) filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and top state government officials.

The lawsuit challenges Minister King’s unlawful arrest on Aug. 9, 2021, during “Black August,” for allegedly violating Penal Code section 4571, which criminalizes people with felony convictions standing near prison facilities.

Minister King was arrested and imprisoned by plainclothes CDCR officers after a July 2021 protest calling for the release of political prisoner Ruchell “Cinque” Magee.

The charges were dropped without a hearing, but Minister King and AOUON allege in their complaint that the arrest was retaliation for his activism and a violation of his First Amendment rights.

According to Medium, Minister King X Pyeface of Kage Universal is a rapper, producer, and ‘artivist’ from Oakland who spent six years in federal prison and 18 years in California State Prison, where he was the youngest new African organizer during the 2011 to 2013 California Prisoners Hunger Strike.

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CDCR’s report for Minister King’s arrest describes King, and many other activists, public figures, and organizations, as “Black Identity Extremists” and “Black Supremacist Extremists.”

These racist terms were used to label organizations such as Black Lives Matter as terrorist organizations and their use was abandoned by the FBI in 2019.

The lawsuit seeks to prevent CDCR from using Penal Code 4571 to target formerly incarcerated individuals for exercising their rights.

The press conference on Friday will discuss the constitutional issues associated with PC 4571, which prohibits an individual who has previously been convicted of a felony and incarcerated in a California state prison from being present on the grounds of carceral facilities or anywhere adjacent to those grounds without the consent of the warden or sheriff.

Additionally, 4571 prohibits these individuals from being anywhere other individuals in state custody may be, and anywhere adjacent to those in custody individuals without consent.

King and AOUON have alleged in their complaint that the statute violates the First Amendment rights of formerly incarcerated individuals and is overly broad and vague.

“In the depths of Pelican Bay State Prison, and other correctional facilities across the United States, a forgotten population of elderly incarcerated individuals awaits redemption. They are not the ‘worst of the worst,’ violent predators or Black Identity Extremists,” says Minister King X.  “Rather, they are a unique class of individuals who possess the wisdom, experience, and desire to promote peace and reconciliation. I am advocating for and on behalf of these elders and the rights of all other prisoners.”

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“We’re saving lives in Oakland. What we are doing works,” said Mayor Thao

By Ken Epstein

Self-assured and defiant, Mayor Sheng Thao strongly defended her achievements during her first two years as mayor and went on the offensive against billionaires who are funding the recall campaign against her.

Thao was speaking at a rally Oct. 15 in Oakland Chinatown, backed by about 100 supporters.

“Oakland has seen unprecedented challenges during and since the pandemic, Thao said. “But I stand with you today to tell you that “Oakland has seen 14,000 less crimes this year than last year.  This year, we’re headed on the right track,” with fewer homicides than in 2019. “We are saving lives in Oakland. What we are doing work,” she said.

Local community and business leaders supporting Thao spoke at the rally, too, which was held in the courtyard of the Pacific Renaissance Plaza in Chinatown. They pushed back on corporate media portrayals of Chinatown residents living in fear of rampant crime and united in opposition to Thao.

“The billionaires, the millionaires, are going to want to tell you that it’s not working and that somehow you shouldn’t believe the data,” Thao continued.  “(However) the data shows that we are saving lives. That is a huge win. It’s not good enough. But it’s a place where we’re proud to start from.”

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“You know who is behind this recall. It is majority funded by one executive (of a) hedge fund who doesn’t even live in Oakland.  He does not care if this brings Oakland into chaos, because that’s exactly what his recall will do.  Imagine a city with no leadership (for many months),” added Thao.

Another speaker, Stewart Chen, owner of a small business in Chinatown and a prominent political leader, has taken a strong stand against the recall.

“Mayor Thao (was) in office for less than two months before the recall started.  I think it’s unfair.  She hasn’t had time to prove her policies and her leadership,” Chen said.

“(Only) two months. That is not democratic. She campaigned hard and was duly elected, -justly, legally, democratically,” he said.

“The Chinatown community, we’re all here, (because) we want to see Mayor Thao (here) for the next two years” to complete her term, Chen said.

Other speakers included Kenneth Tang, organizing director of Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) Action – who said he and other APEN Action members came to the rally because, “We support Mayor Thao.”

Elaine Peng, president of Asian Americans for Progressive Alameda, (AAPA) brought out people to the rally.  Her organization is also actively working to elect U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mariano Contreras of the Latino Task Force and a leader of the “Respect Our Vote – No Recalls!” coalition, said, “There was a time when African Americans could not vote. There was a time when Asians could not vote. There was a time when Latinos could not vote. That was called voter suppression. This is another form of voter suppression. We already cast our ballot for Mayor Sheng Thao. Please, vote ‘no’ on the recall.”

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