WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) announced she has secured 130 cosponsors for the Abolition Amendment. Additionally, every member of the Congressional Black Caucus in the House of Representatives has cosponsored the Abolition Amendment. Click here for the full list of cosponsors. Senator Jeff Merkley (D.-Ore.) introduced companion legislation in the Senate. In June 2021, Congresswoman Williams introduced the Abolition Amendment, which would strike the “Slavery Clause” of the 13th Amendment that allows slavery to continue in the United States. The 13th Amendment abolished most—but not all—slavery, except “as a punishment for crime.” The Abolition Amendment would end the morally reprehensible practice of slavery and forced labor in America. Today, in the United States, there are nearly two million people behind bars who are disproportionately Black and who can still be legally enslaved. 

Congresswoman Williams said:

“The Abolition Amendment will bring us one step closer to achieving true justice and equality for all. States are amending their constitutions to finally abolish slavery in all forms, and Congress must lead the way and finally abolish forced labor in America. We are in a period of reckoning with our country’s history and much of which is marked with racism and systems of oppression. Eliminating the loophole in the 13th Amendment that allows for slavery is another opportunity to reckon with our past so we can move forward. I am hopeful that more of my colleagues will stand up and say once and for all we will end slavery with no exceptions. I look forward to the House of Representatives voting quickly on the Abolition Amendment.” 

CONTACT: PressGA05@mail.house.gov 

Congresswoman Nikema Williams proudly serves Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District. Congresswoman Williams serves on the exclusive Financial Services Committee where she is Vice Chair of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the Select Committee for the Modernization of Congress. She is Freshman Class President and Co-Chairs the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus. Congresswoman Williams builds on the Fifth District’s legacy as the cradle of the civil rights movement as a champion of voting rights, closing the racial wealth gap, and ensuring the promise of America for all–regardless of their ZIP code or bank account.

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