• grue@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Yep, in combination with “vagrancy” laws.

      Here’s how the scheme worked:

      1. Refuse to hire blacks for anything more than “might as well still be slavery” wages.

      2. Arrest unemployed blacks for “vagrancy.”

      3. Re-enslave them (see “except as punishment for crime” clause of the 14th Amendment) and disenfranchise them as a bonus.

      Edit: BTW, I highly recommend this video, which is where I learned about this (because it sure as Hell wasn’t properly taught in my Georgia high school).