Modern Slavery of Black People in Cotton Farming Exists - in America.

Typical of Uncle Sam to project his own sins and crimes onto other innocent parties. #SanctionAmerica #AmericanHumanRightsAbuses #SlaveryInAmerica #ShamelessWesternHypocrisy 

"As Washington and its allies along with the Western media push an aggressive propaganda campaign against the alleged "human rights" violations in Xinjiang without offering any credible evidence, one needs to take a closer look at the murky history of "forced labor" and "plantation slavery" in the U.S. cotton industry, which some say still continue, albeit under a political and legal camouflage. 

"There's a lot of hypocrisy involved with the manufacturing of cotton in the United States. While slavery is legally banned in the U.S., the practice continues in the form of prison labor for convicted felons," China-based American expat Robert Vannrox told CGTN Digital, asserting that prison labor continues to be used in cotton farming in the U.S. 

"Slavery is alive and kicking in the United States. Just that you don't call it slavery anymore," said Vannrox, who has previously worked with the U.S. government and military. 

Many may find these claims bewildering but Vannrox is factually correct. The U.S. is perpetuating slavery, by all accounts, under the garb of prison labor. A dark chapter that is widely, and perhaps deliberately, overlooked by the West but needs reminding every time they take a moral high ground on the subject. 

Slavery is legally banned in the U.S. but the practice continues in the form of prison labor for convicted felons. 

While it is widely known that the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865 abolished slavery, not many seem to grasp a crucial legal exception. Section 1 of the Amendment provides: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." 

Beyond the legalese, this simply means: Imprisoned felons have no constitutional rights in the U.S.; and they can be forced to work as punishment for their crimes. Slavery from the back door, if you will. 

The discriminatory legal and judicial system in the U.S. has ensured that a large number of African American men are declared felons and therefore eligible for prison labor, which is just another form of slavery. "In the United States, if you're a Black person, chances of your becoming a felon is very high. One third of Black men in America are felons," said Vannrox. 

A 2017 report by Population Association of America substantiates Vannrox's claims. "We estimate that 3% of the total U.S. adult population and 15% of the African American adult male population has ever been to prison; people with felony convictions account for 8% of all adults and 33% of the African American adult male population," the report stated. 

According to Vannrox many of the cotton farms in the U.S. are run by prison laborers under harsh conditions, which is a modern version of slavery. "In Arkansas, they have set up prisons where they actually farm cotton. The funny thing and the hypocrisy that is involved is that many of these prisons are former slave plantations," he said. 

The Cummins Unit is one of the biggest cotton production prisons in Arkansas. 

"The biggest cotton production prisons in Arkansas are Cummins Unit (Lincoln County) and the East Arkansas Regional Unit (Brickeys)," Vannrox noted. 

The Cummins Unit with a capacity of 1,725 is one of the largest prisons in Arkansas. The prison farm (formerly known as the Cummins State Farm) is built in an area of 16,500 acres (6,700 hectares) and occupies the former Cummins and Maple Grove plantations. Cotton is among the chief cash crops, along with rice and corn, that the prisoners harvest in the facility. 

The U.S. is the third largest cotton-producing country behind India and China. Texas, Georgia, Mississippi and Arkansas are the major cotton producing U.S. states. Vannrox maintained that most of the cotton in the U.S. comes from the American prison system funded by the U.S. government. 

An archived New York Times report from June 16, 1964 about two New York State prisons receiving "subsidies under the Government's new cotton program" establishes a direct link between prison labor and cotton plantation, which Vannrox insisted continues even today." 

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-03-29/Slavery-is-alive-and-kicking-in-U-S-cotton-prison-farms--Z0vs8rr87m/index.html