From Vermont Racial Justice Alliance:
Allies and leaders from Vermont Racial Justice Alliance and Vermont Interfaith Action hold a press conference to launch the Abolish Slavery Vermont Campaign, calling on Vermonters to vote “Yes” on Proposal 2, the constitutional amendment stating that slavery and indentured servitude are prohibited in all forms. This question will be on the ballot in November. While Vermonters and the nation have been taught for generations that the state was the first to abolish slavery we now know that that no state constitutioanlly permitted slavery before Vermont. Vermont’s constitution permits slavery of folks under age 21 and individuals bound by their own consent. The Vermont constitution has also always permitted the enslavement of those bound for payment of debts, damages, fines, costs or “the like.” Exception clauses of 25 other state constitutions and the Thirteenth Amendment have been informed by these exception clauses in the Vermont Constitution, leading to the introduction of convict leasing in the US.
The Aboilsh Slavery Vermont Campaign focusses on human rights and connects the institution of slavery to its legacy - systemic racism. Mark Hughes, Executive Director of Vermont Racial Justice Alliance and the catalyst for the amendment, stated, “Political and economic inequality along racial lines and across all society exist today because of the legacy of slavery. This amendment goes to the heart of a 245 year old crime against humanity.” It also addresses the existence of and the ongoing impact of the thirteenth amendment exception clause. The thirteenth amendment exception clause has led to prison (industry) proliferation, skyrocketing incarceration and hugely disproportionate numbers of Black Americans being locked up.
