400 years ago, the first group of Africans arrived in Virginia, and were sold as property to colonists. For centuries to come, Africans were forcefully brought over on ships for labor that they would not be paid for. Horror stories continue to be told about doctors’ experimentations on them for “modern medicine,” and mostly the physical and mental abuse they received as forms of punishment. Slaves worked in coal mining, railroad building, cooking, or washing and cleaning, but most slaves worked in plantations. 

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln’s decision of abolishing slavery through the 13th Amendment became official. While slaves were technically free by law, people found loopholes through the Amendment that would allow slavery to continue. Today, modern day slavery lives on in prisons.

Raising the Bar host Jason Clark, President of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association is joined by Jaaye Person-Lynn, Principal at Law Office of Jaaye Person-Lynn, Esq. and Todd Belcore, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Social Change to discuss the 13th Amendment.

Airs Sunday, August 25th at 7:30pm on MNN 1, MNN HD, and stream at mnn.org