The Long Road for Progress: Under Inconsistent Enforcement of the 13th and 14th Amendments

In 2024, as the Supreme Court struck down Affirmative Action and states dismantled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), the promises of the 13th and 14th Amendments seemed to retreat further into history. The pattern is unmistakable: each generation witnesses constitutional guarantees weakened by selective enforcement, revealing a truth many Americans resist confronting—the mechanisms that sustained slavery never disappeared; they merely transformed. When the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in 1865 after 246 years of bondage, it marked not an ending but a beginning of what W.E.B. Du Bois called "a new form of submission" [1]. The question isn't whether slavery ended, but whether America ever intended to dismantle the systems that made it possible.

When looking at recent developments in the lives of Black Americans, particularly regarding the criminal justice system, economy, and education, there is a significant lack of progress. In fact, these areas are regressing to a point that mirrors society before the Civil Rights Movement, as seen with mass incarceration and the attack on DEI in education, as well as the workplace. Despite the 13th Amendment’s promise to abolish slavery and the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law, the persistent lack of federal enforcement has allowed slavery-era control mechanisms to evolve and survive in these critical areas: the criminal justice system, housing, employment, and higher education access. Therefore, demonstrating that constitutional amendments without effective enforcement mechanisms remain aspirational documents.

The failure of the federal government to enforce both the 13th and 14th Amendments from the beginning of their ratification was deliberate and intended to stifle Black growth. After the Confederacy’s defeat in the Civil War and the resulting outrage over freeing the slaves, Southern legislatures created the Black Codes to undermine the 13th Amendment and enforce restrictive laws on freed Black Americans. The Black Codes prohibited Black Americans’ rights to interracial marriage, property ownership, voting, and introduced vagrancy laws [2]. These legislative acts exploited a loophole in the 13th amendment, which states that slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted” [3]. Thus, by over-criminalizing misdemeanor acts such as loitering or even simply being homeless, Black people—newly freed and often unhoused—were often arrested. Once convicted under these laws, Black Americans could then be leased to private employers, effectively reestablishing forced labor under the guise of criminal punishment, with law enforcement often returning them to the plantations of their former slave owners [4]. It would take an additional three years for Congress to recognize the harm in failing to enforce the 13th Amendment properly. Eventually, this realization led to the ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1886, officially granting Black Americans citizenship and “equal protection of the law” [5]. Consequently, the Black Codes became unconstitutional. Yet, even with the 14th Amendment's fifth section granting power to Congress to "enforce by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article”, clearly outlining Congress's authority to ensure compliance among states, Southern states of the former Confederacy still resisted constitutional mandates [6]. 

In 1870, just two years after the ratification of the 14th Amendment, Congress ratified the 15th Amendment, prohibiting states from denying Black Americans the right to vote based on race or “previous condition of servitude” [7]. Unfortunately, this Amendment was also quickly undermined by former Confederate legislators, who disenfranchised Black Americans through poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses. This harm was not effectively addressed until 95 years later, with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but modern-day voter suppression is still active in harsh voter ID laws, a lack of polling sites, etc. It is clear that, despite the ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, improvement in the lives of Black Americans has been stagnant and inconsistent. Throughout history, the lack of force in enforcing these Amendments has created ways in which racial subjugation was reinvented through legislation rather than completely abolishing it as intended. By allowing Southern states to take advantage of the exception clause of the 13th Amendment and initially disregarding the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, such as in cases like Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), federal inaction indirectly legitimized resistance to change. This government failure laid the framework for the contemporary criminal justice system, which continues to function as a byproduct of early discriminatory laws. 

The lack of action in regards to the 13th Amendment’s exception clause, combined with the weak enforcement of the 14th Amendment, has allowed the criminal justice system to function as a direct successor to Black Codes. Black Americans, particularly Black men, face a disproportionately higher risk of imprisonment compared to their white counterparts and other racial groups. Black men are six times more likely than White men, and twice as likely as Hispanic men, to be admitted into prison [8]. In many prisons, where Black men make up the majority of the population, two out of three prisoners are required to work. Their labor ranges from cooking and janitorial duties to manufacturing furniture, mattresses, and license plates. However, incarcerated workers are “stripped of even the most minimal protections against labor exploitation and abuse”  [9 citation]. The majority of these incarcerated workers have reported that, in addition to working and receiving little to no pay, they face discriminatory practices from the prison's guards and correctional officers [10].

The loophole in the 13th Amendment, originally exploited by former Confederates and codified through Black Codes, continues to facilitate prison labor exploitation today. Jaron Browne, in his article “Rooted in Slavery: Prison Labor Exploitation”, draws a direct connection between the modern exploitation of prisoners and the origins of Black Codes and convict leasing [11]. Prison conditions and the method of arresting Black Americans to subjugate them into forced labor contracts have also been compared to the Black Codes. Just as the Black Codes exploited newly freed Black slaves by criminalizing ordinary behavior to subject them to near slavery labor, the current criminal justice system mirrors this dynamic. 

In addition to prison labor, the pipeline to the prison system also perpetuates the legacy of Black Codes. For example, the cash bail system functions as a modern analogue to the vagrancy laws first introduced under the Black Codes, criminalizing poverty and disproportionately affecting Black communities. While the 8th Amendment prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment, cash bail was originally intended as a tool to ensure defendants appear in court. However, like the inconsistent enforcement of the 13th and 14th Amendments, the cash bail system has been weaponized as a form of wealth-based discrimination, disproportionately burdening marginalized communities and pressuring defendants to plead guilty. The financial burdens imposed by this system further perpetuate economic inequality within the criminal justice system, especially towards Black Americans.

Moreover, the inconsistent enforcement of the 13th and the 14th Amendment did not just extend to the prison systems but also to the economic state Black Americans found themselves in. Many Black Americans are still living in impoverished communities in urban areas and continue to make up the majority of the unemployment rate at 5.5% percent in 2023 [12]. Many of these economic disparities can all be attributed to the improper enforcement of the 13th and 14th Amendments in their early days of enactment. During the Reconstruction era, the Black Codes infringed on Black Americans’ rights to buy or own property, as they could not “rent or lease land except in towns or cities” [13]. Though the Black Codes were deemed illegal, Jim Crow swiftly replaced them and left a more permanent negative impact on Black Americans’ access to housing. In these cities and towns where they were allowed to reside, jurisdictions practiced redlining. This system signaled to banks or loan companies which areas contained large populations of Black Americans, and from that designation, they determined that these areas would be denied mortgage or insurance loans, as well as other financial services. The effects of this discrimination are still being seen today, such as low property value in areas where Black Americans reside, and the ever-growing wealth gap [14]. 

Redlining originated from the HOLC (Home Owner’s Loan Corporation) maps, where it was rooted in the idea the loan company must determine in which areas of urban neighborhoods would be most return to the company, since they aruged that the “wealthy migrate[d] out of cities over time, leaving inner-cities inhabited by racial and ethnic minorities and causing home prices to drop” [15]. They created a system where they would acquire a map of an urban neighborhood and make an assessment of each area and categorize them into 4 groups: “ A (green), B (blue), C (yellow), and D (red)” [16]. In which the A (green) areas were categorized as the most desirable neighborhoods to invest money into. The D (red) areas were the opposite, and were known as “hazardous,” and it was said that “a good mortgage man would probably not consider [giving] any loans [to these minority communities] at all…” [17]. The ranking of “D” was given to majority white communities, with even the smallest populations of Black people. These discriminatory practices, which the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause was intended to combat, were perpetuated within these neighborhoods as patterns of disinvestment and continued long after the practice was made illegal. This is seen as recently as 2016, when it was determined that there was a decrease in prices for houses within red-zoned neighborhoods, but an increase in vacant houses by 5-7 % due to “negative externalities associated with these neighborhood characteristics” [18]. Conversely, predominantly white, wealthy neighborhoods with houses of higher price values have a trend of decreasing vacant housing in the neighborhood, as a result of white flight from red-zoned neighborhoods with mixed minority populations.  

In addition to the persistence of socioeconomic discrimination and the original intent of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause was enacted to prevent such discrimination. It is now clear that these inequities result from the Amendment’s inconsistent enforcement. The 14th Amendment was intended to guarantee equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination against Black Americans. Still, its promise has been increasingly undermined by recent developments, particularly the rollback of DEI initiatives, the removal of Affirmative Action, and challenges to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) protections. During the Civil Rights Movement, one of its most significant accomplishments was the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which expanded the reach of the 14th Amendment by reinforcing the Equal Protection Clause across employment, public accommodations, and privately owned businesses. Under Title 7, it makes it illegal for an “employer to discriminate against someone because of their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin [19]” which laid the foundation for the creation of the EEOC and, by proxy, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Since the EEOC's establishment, legal protections against workplace discrimination have increased employment opportunities for Black Americans. There has been a rise in initiatives within corporate offices to have DEI policies or programs that promote recruitment of “disadvantaged group members who apply for jobs and promotions…”, and an increase in training and mentorship for minority groups, and affirmative action in the hiring process [20].

However, now, with the recent decision from Trump’s Administration to remove DEI policies and programs, which has eliminated thousands of jobs from an already saturated job market, Black Americans—particularly Black women–are losing their employment [21]. Additionally, with the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College (2024), where it ended the use of Affirmative Action in college admissions, access to equal education opportunities for Black students has been threatened [22]. Research has shown a recent decline in Black admissions to colleges, particularly at higher institutions and more selective schools. When reviewing Columbia University's 2024-2025 Common Data Set, it indicates that the enrollment of Black or African American students in the category of degree-seeking was 139, whereas in the 2020-2021 Common Data Set, the number was 557 [23]. Black enrollment decreased by about 75% from 2020 to 2024. Specifically, the Black student enrollment for the class of 2028 decreased drastically compared to other racial groups. This is also reflected in Harvard’s 2024-2025 Common Data Set, where 628 Black or African American students were admitted, compared to 665 in the previous year's Common Data Set, resulting in a 5.6% decrease [24].

In essence, the damage caused by the inconsistent enforcement of the 13th and 14th Amendments has allowed the very systems they were meant to dismantle to survive into the modern world. What was slavery, Black Codes, redlining, has now transformed into the current criminal justice system, economic inequality, and the denial of basic human rights like housing, employment, and education to Black Americans. By failing to enforce the 13th and 14th Amendments time and time again, the United States has regressed into the times when racial control and slavery still existed, as if they never left at all. The evidence shows that the lack of enforcement of the 13th Amendment allowed the creation of Black Codes within the South, which developed into a prison labor system that is being exploited today, relying on the practice of Convict Leasing stemming from Black Codes. Currently, the criminal justice system continues to use prison labor, working prisoners with little to no pay, and leases prisoners for their labor as well. In addition, housing, economic, and education discrimination are results of the continuation of the inconsistent enforcement of the 14th Amendment. In which practices from the Jim Crow era, like redlining and declining employment of Black Americans, from removed, the programs that were in place to protect the workplace's Diversity, equity, and inclusion, leaving Black Americans more susceptible to discriminatory hiring practices and limiting job opportunities.

Although the progressive movement seemed to have begun 160 years ago with the abolition of slavery, it is undeniable that some systems have persisted, evolving into the structures that continue to disadvantage Black Americans today. Now, the United States is at a crossroads: the government has a choice not to enforce, either uphold these 160-year-long systems allowing for these systems to fester and impact future Black American generations to come, or take action in enforcing the 13th and 14th Amendments, making sure history does not repeat itself and ushering in a new age of true progress for Black Americans. True progress requires not only the laws on paper but also active commitment from the government to uphold justice and equality. Only then can constitutional amendments enact their purpose and not remain as aspirational documents.

[1] Du Bois, W. E. B., “The Souls of Black Folk,” 2008.

[2] National Constitution Center. “Black Codes (1865) | the National Constitution Center.” National Constitution Center 1865. 

[3] Congress.gov. “U.S. Constitution - Thirteenth Amendment | Resources | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.” December 6, 1865. 

[4] J Scott Harr, Kären M Hess, Christine M H Orthmann, and Jon Kingsbury. “Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System. 7th ed.” Cengage Learning 

[5] Congress.gov. “U.S. Constitution - Fourteenth Amendment | Resources | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.” July 9, 1868. 

[6] Ibid. 

[7] Constitution.Congress.gov, “U.S Constitution - Fifteenth Amendment | Resources | Constiution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.” February 26, 1869. 

[8] Bonczar, Thomas, and Allen, Beck. “Lifetime Likelihood of Going to State or Federal Prison.” U.S. Department of Justice, March 1997

[9] Wallace v. Robinson, 914 F.2d 869, 873 (7th Cir. 1990) 

[10] Bonczar, Thomas, and Allen, Beck. “Lifetime Likelihood of Going to State or Federal Prison.” U.S. Department of Justice, March 1997. 

[11] Browne, Jaron. “Rooted in Slavery: Prison Labor Exploitation.” Race, Poverty & the Environment 14, 2007

[12] Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2023.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. December 23, 2024. 

[13] Ibid. 

[14] Appel, Ian, and Jordan Nickerson. “Pockets of Poverty: The Long-Term Effects of Redlining.” Papers.ssrn.com. October 15, 2016.

[15] Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2023.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. December 23, 2024. 

[16] Ibid. 

[17] United States, Federal Home Loan Bank Administration, “August 1936, Vol. 2 No. 11”, Federal Home Loan Bank Board,  August 1936

[18] Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2023.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. December 23, 2024. 

[19] The United States Department of Justice.“Laws We Enforce.” www.justice.gov. 2023. 

[20] Aarti Iyer, "Understanding Advantaged Groups' Opposition to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Policies: The Role of Perceived Threat." Social and Personality Psychology Compass 16, no. 5, April 13, 2022

[21] Maria, Aspan, “Corporate America’s Retreat from DEI Has Eliminated Thousands of Jobs.”, OPB. May 27, 2025. 

[22] Columbia University, “Common Data Set Columbia College Engineering”, Office of Planning and Institutional Research, September 2022 

[23] Ibid. 

[24] Harvard University, “Common Data Set”, Office of Institutional Research & Analytics, 2025 

Works Cited:

Appel, Ian, and Jordan Nickerson. 2016. “Pockets of Poverty: The Long-Term Effects of Redlining.” Papers.ssrn.com. Rochester, NY. October 15, 2016. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2852856.

Aspan, Maria. 2025. “Corporate America’s Retreat from DEI Has Eliminated Thousands of Jobs.” Opb. OPB. May 27, 2025. https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/27/corporate-america-s-retreat-from-dei-has-cut-thousands-of-jobs/.

Browne, Jaron. 2007. “Rooted in Slavery: Prison Labor Exploitation.” Race, Poverty & the Environment 14 (1): 42–44. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41555136.

Bonczar, Thomas, and Allen Beck. 1997. “Lifetime Likelihood of Going to State or Federal Prison.” U.S. Department of Justice. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/Llgsfp.pdf.

Columbia University, “Common Data Set Columbia College Engineering”, Office of Planning and Institutional Research, September 2022 https://opir.columbia.edu/sites/opir.columbia.edu/files/content/Common%20Data%20Set/Common%20Data%20Set%20Columbia%20College%20Engineering%202021-2022.pdf.

Constitution Annotated. 1870. “U.S. Constitution - Fifteenth Amendment | Resources | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.” Constitution.congress.gov. February 3, 1870. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-15/.

Du Bois, W. E. B., 2008.  “The Souls of Black Folk,” Edited by Brent Hayes Edwards, Oxford University Press, 2008.

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-souls-of-black-folk-9780199555833

Harvard University, “Common Data Set”, Office of Institutional Research & Analytics, 2025 https://oira.harvard.edu/common-data-set/.

Iyer, Aarti. 2022. “Understanding Advantaged Groups’ Opposition to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Policies: The Role of Perceived Threat.” Social and Personality Psychology Compass 16 (5). https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12666.

J Scott Harr, Kären M Hess, Christine M H Orthmann, and Jon Kingsbury. 2018.“Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System. 7th ed.” 2018. Cengage Learning https://www.cengage.com/c/constitutional-law-and-the-criminal-justice-system-7e-harr-hess-orthmann-kingsbury/9781305966468/

“Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2023.” 2024. Bureau of Labor Statistics. December 23, 2024. https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/race-and-ethnicity/2023/home.htm.

National Constitution Center. n.d. “Black Codes (1865) | the National Constitution Center.” National Constitution Center – Constitutioncenter.org. https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/mississippi-south-carolina-black-codes-1865.

The United States Department of Justice. 2023. “Laws We Enforce.” Www.justice.gov. 2023. https://www.justice.gov/crt/laws-we-enforce.

United States, Federal Home Loan Bank Administration, “August 1936, Vol. 2 No. 11”, Federal Home Loan Bank Board,  August 1936, https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/116/item/2025

“U.S. Constitution - Thirteenth Amendment | Resources | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.” n.d. Constitution.congress.gov. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-13.

“U.S. Constitution - Fourteenth Amendment | Resources | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.” 1868. Congress.gov. July 9, 1868. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-14/.

“Wallace v. Robinson et al., No. 3:2019cv00726 - Document 100 (S.D. Miss. 2022).” 2019. Justia Law. 2019. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/mississippi/mssdce/3:2019cv00726/105826/100/.