The literature surrounding the enslavement of black men is not extensive by any means, but the literature that does exist does a good job at quantifying its significance. Research on this topic is divided into two groups: scholarly works that focus on black imprisonment before or after the enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment. Using archival research of prior censuses, Bales (2017) was able to discover that there were 3,950,529 black slaves in the United States in 1860. Sen suggests that the opposite of human development is being deprived of freedom, and the contents of Bales’ research embodies that insinuation because slaves do not have the same freedoms as those who enslave them. Data in another paper was derived using archival research of prison records in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina from 1866-1870, which showed that 1355 black people were imprisoned, and black people made up 95% of the prison population at this point in time (Adamson, 1983). Changes in the Southern penal systems prompted the mass incarceration process of black men as a means of legally continuing slavery. The internment of black men in this period of American history relates to Amartya Sen’s definition of development because most white people in the South did not want black people to experience the same legal freedoms they had. Researchers also found that those who reported high levels of everyday discrimination were also more likely to experience serious contect with the criminal justice system (Taylor, Miller, Mouzon, Keith, & Chatters, 2016). The data discussed in this study speaks to how racism in the United States contributes to the use of mass incarceration of black men as a form of modern day slavery. The United States has a dark history of racism, and as supported by the conclusions of aforementioned research, there are contemporary manifestations of that past that can be addressed through the use of data science.
Inarguably, tackling a problem this massive and deep-rooted is intimating, but it is doable if it is approached in the correct manner. Archival research like the data discussed earlier on is beneficial when examining historical documents, or things of the past, while survey data is one of the methods that can be utilized for analyzing present-day phenomena. Similar to the previous survey discussed, this nationally representative survey would consists of questions about basic demographic information, if they have been personally impacted by the conditions of the Thirteenth Amendment, how satisfied they are with the Thirteenth Amendment as it presently exists, and if they would be content with an amendment to the Thirteenth Amendment. Ideally, this proposal would not take more than 3 years to complete, however it is essential that this project is adopted immediately. The first year would consist of exploring 2020 census data to gauge how many people would make up a nationally representative survey sample. The sooner this project starts, the more relevant the census data is. The second year would primarily focus on field work, including actually surveying people, and then analyzing this data. The third year is reserved solely for presenting this data to state and federal congressional bodies. The point of this survey is to understand Americans’ attitudes towards the Thirteenth Amendment. Based on the United States’ current socio-political climate, one can hypothesize that some change to standing laws or amendments would be desired by a majority of Americans who were sampled. If a majority of Americans want a constitutional amendment to be passed, then those responses can be presented to Congress. A constitutional amendment can be passed in one of two ways: two-thirds of the states petition for an amendment change, Congress approves of the change at a constitutional convention, and then ¾ of the state legislatures must approve of the change, or Congress proposes the amendment, ⅔ of the House of Representatives and Senate approves of the amendment, and then ¾ of the states approve of the change. Two major foreseeable research problems would be non-response bias and lack of responses in general. Non-response bias occurs when the group of respondents differ significantly from those who did not respond to the survey, which skews the results. Constitutional amendments are inherently political, so it is anticipated that those with extreme thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs on the topic will be most likely to respond, while those who are indifferent may not respond at the same rate as the latter. Non-response bias could be combatted using an incentive for survey participants, such as a cash reward. Though this is expensive, statistical validity is important, and should be prioritized. A lack of responses to the survey can be adjusted for by increasing the sample size, which can be calibrated, if need be, only once the 2020 Census has been reviewed and some surveys have already been administered. Additionally, Congress and the states may not propose a constitutional amendment, even if the data supports that action, because the prison business profits off of mass incarceration of black people, and the prison business may push for Congress to reject an amendment. Congressional opposition to the amendment is a real possibility for that reason, but, actually staying true to this country’s founding principles and safeguarding those who live here is far more important than making sure that a few select people make money off of injustice. The proposed research plan would not be expensive to implement. The survey could be sent out in an online format, which would be cheaper than in-person administration. Online surveys could also reduce the amount of potential fraud because IP addresses and emails could be tracked to ensure that there is a 1:1 ratio for surveys and respondents. Additionally, it would be easier to process online data, rather than sort through paper surveys and analyze that data by hand. Since there is no need for in-person administrators for this survey, the only individuals who would need to be hired for this project are a few trained statisticians (no more than five) who would be paid a yearly salary for the three-year period they are employed. According to U.S. News, the median yearly salary for skilled statisticians is around $91,000 (2019). There is no need to fund their travel or other expenses because they can access this online data and information from their own home. The only other cost would come from the potential incentive that is offered to respondents. Depending on how much money is allocated for research, the incentive could either be cash (if the budget allows for that), or something else that is not related to money (if there is no room in the budget for a cash incentive). Overall, the price of standing idly by a system built on racism that enables a legal and penal system to unfairly target black men in the United States for nearly 300 years is far more costly than the amount of money it would take to dismantle that system through simple survey research.
As technology has become more ingrained in people’s lives, law enforcement has relied on data to aid arrests and indictments. Many of these predictive tools are based on past data, however, this data inaccurately categorizes black people as having a higher risk for committing a crime after being released from prison. Dr. Aleš Završnik exemplifies COMPAS in his research, a software used to predict rearrests for prior criminals. The COMPASS algorithm is based on assessments administered by the company over a one year period. The algorithm was found to be inaccurate after a significant number of black offenders were false positives, meaning that they were marked by the software at being at a high risk for rearrest, yet never actually recommitting a crime. Contrastingly, the tool indicated that a significant number of white offenders were not at risk for rearrest, but in reality they were more likely to recommit a crime. Racist data like this that is used by law enforcement contributes to the idea that the United States justice system unfairly targets black people, which leads to an unproportionate number of black men in prison. Further research on this topic could include bettering the data and methodology used by law enforcement so that the legal system can technologically advance without upholding a racist and outdated system. However, before that future research can be pursued, it is imperative that a constitutional amendment to the Thirteenth Amendment be passed so that any existing racially biased softwares do not have constitutional law upholding it.
Researchers unanimously agree that black men in the United States today are victims of lasting racism, and many are subject to forced labor by a legal system that disproportionately targets them. But, seldom is there any advice on how to remedy modern day slavery. If the United States wants to continue to promote itself as a free nation it is critical that the country actively combats the components of American society that sustain the undeniable lack of freedom for certain demographics. Eliminating racism in the United States is a large undertaking, and it may be impossible on a large scale, but dismantling racism within government bodies is feasible. Government officials are supposed to be representatives of the United States, and a country that prides itself on freedom should not be spoken for by politicians who agree with depriving freedom from black men via the Thirteenth Amendment. Survey research can be used to urge Congress to pass a constitutional amendment; data and recommendations from the previously mentioned scholarly literature support this counsel.
References
Adamson, C. R. (1983). Punishment after slavery: Southern State Penal Systems, 1865-1890.
Social Problems, 30(5), 555–569. https://doi.org/10.2307/800272
Bales, K. (2017). Unlocking the statistics of slavery. CHANCE, 30(3), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/09332480.2017.1383105
Sen, A. K. (2001). Development as Freedom. Oxford University Press.
Statistician Salary. U.S. News. 2019, from https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/statistician/salary
Taylor, R. J., Miller, R., Mouzon, D., Keith, V. M., & Chatters, L. M. (2016). Everyday discrimination among African American men. Race and Justice, 8(2), 154–177.https://doi.org/10.1177/2153368716661849
Završnik, A. (2019). Algorithmic justice: Algorithms and Big Data in criminal justice settings. European Journal of Criminology, 18(5), 623–642.https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370819876762