1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

I urge the Virginia General Assembly to amend the Virginia Constitution to explicitly abolish slavery and involuntary servitude for all people without exception, including as punishment for crime. This year marks the 250th Anniversary of Virginia’s Bill of Rights, the world’s first modern bill of rights, yet slavery is STILL LEGAL in our state, falling prey to the 13th Amendment’s loophole that allows forced labor of incarcerated and detained people. This exception has allowed slavery to persist in modern form—disproportionately harming Black, Brown, and low-income Virginians. Forced labor under threat of punishment is not rehabilitation; it is coercion. It strips people of dignity and enables exploitation for corporate and state economic gains. Virginia has a unique responsibility to confront this injustice. Our Commonwealth was a central hub of the domestic slave trade and later systems like convict leasing and chain gangs, which re-enslaved people through the criminal legal system. Today, incarcerated and detained Virginians can still be compelled to work for pennies or nothing at all, denied basic labor protections, and punished for refusing work that would be illegal outside prison walls. Ending slavery in the Constitution would not eliminate accountability for crime. It would affirm a basic principle: punishment and civil detention must never include forced servitude. Public safety and rehabilitation are best served through voluntary, fairly compensated work, education, and reentry opportunities—not coercion. States across the country are removing slavery clauses from their constitutions. Eight have done so successfully since 2018, which more than a dozen others organizing to do the same. Let’s get Virginia on the right side of history. I urge you to support an amendment that fully abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude in all circumstances. Amend the Constitution. End slavery in Virginia—once and for all.