CHASING THE DREAM – NEW YORK LAWMAKER PROPOSES LEGISLATION TO BAN “PRISON SLAVE LABOR”

A state assembly member has introduced legislation in Albany to end the practice of forced prison labor, and to require that incarcerated people make at least minimum wage for their work. The bills would abolish slavery without exception in New York’s constitution and extend workers’ protections to incarcerated New Yorkers. New York is among a dwindling number of states with no such protection for inmates. Advocates say it’s a move that is long overdue, and part of a nationwide movement to close the “slavery loophole” in the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery at the federal level with one exception: when used as punishment for a crime. Tonight, we’re joined by New York State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, who sponsored the legislation, as well as prison reform advocates Jesse Koklas and Johnny Perez, a formerly incarcerated New Yorker who shares his experience of being threatened with solitary confinement while working for pennies an hour sewing underwear, pillowcases, and sheets.

A LESSON IN LEADERSHIP

In her book “Leadership In Turbulent Times,” famed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin explores our history to make sense of today’s national narrative by focusing on four Presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson.