America’s 20th century slavery

For the January/February 2013 issue of Washington Monthly, focused on the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Douglas Blackmon wrote on the “horrifying, little-known story of how hundreds of thousands of blacks worked in brutal bondage right up until World War II.” His article, “America’s Twentieth-Century Slavery,” discusses the harsh realities of kidnapping and involuntary servitude that victimized African Americans long after the Emancipation Proclamation outlawed slavery. Blackmon shares the stories of individuals whose friends and relatives were taken away, and the struggle they faced dealing with authorities unwilling to help.
 
Read the full article, as well as other articles from the January/February issue of Washington Monthly. In conjunction with the release of this special issue of Washington Monthly, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Washington Monthly hosted an event in Washington D.C. on Jan. 25. Watch the C-SPAN coverage of the panel discussion.