Abolish Bondage Collectively (ABC)

A grassroots campaign working to eradicate structural racism and erase vestiges of slavery

Timeline

1863

Emancipation Proclamation becomes effective after being signed into law by President Lincoln in 1862, ending slavery and involuntary servitude in the U.S.

1865

The 13th Amendment and its Exception Clause are added to the U.S. Constitution allowing for the continuation of involuntary servitude as punishment for crime.

1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is enacted in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement just four years before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

1974

Article 1, Section 6 is amended to the California Constitution, legalizing the practice of involuntary servitude as a means of punishing crime in California.

2021

Assembly Constitutional Amendment 3 seeks to remove involuntary servitude from the California Constitution Federal legislation is also introduced to end the Exception.