Rev. J. Loren Russell
Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and afuture.”
Today we celebrate that historic day affectionately referred to as Juneteenth. It commemorates June 19, 1865, the day word reached Texas, the last of the rebellious states in the newly formed Union, that the enslaved people of the new Union were free.
It was the Emancipation Proclamation enacted by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1862, that set the enslaved people free, but the word didn’t get to Texas until 3 years, 5 months, and 18 days had passed. That was after the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution on January 31, 1865 (4 months and 19 days). It was later officially ratified by the required number of states on December 6, 1865.
Have you ever read the 13th Amendment? It never actually abolished slavery. The 13th Amendment states:
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction”. The prepositional word “except” allows legally convicted persons to be enslaved. The 13th Amendment did not abolish slavery but rather moved it from the plantation to the prison.
Slavery is alive and well in the United States of America. It went from the plantation to incarceration! Incarcerated individuals in America are legally considered slaves under the Constitution, and there are more Black people enslaved today than in the 1800’s. They are forced to work for pennies an hour with the profits going to counties, states, and private corporations including, among others, Target, Revlon, and Whole Foods.
While the Black population in the United States represents about 13 to 14% of the general population, we disproportionately make up roughly 37 to 42% of the nationwide incarcerated population. That is a disparity that must change.
Whenever I have the honor of speaking to young men or males, especially those who are involved in the criminal justice system, I routinely ask, “What made you decide to go back to the plantation?” Even after the sentence, the system will not fully release you;
- Probation,
- Parole,
- Supervision that limits where you can go, what you can do, how you can rebuild your life.
Still counted. Still controlled.
If freedom comes with an “exception,” who is most likely to live inside it—and who will have the courage to close that gap? The “exception” clause isn’t just a line in a document—it is a doorway. And too many had been pushed through it.
While laws may shape circumstances, they do not have the final word over destiny. While systems may bind bodies, they cannot imprison purpose. And while history may explain the present, it does not have the authority to cancel what God has already declared.
It is vitally important that we eliminate the senseless crimes, killing, and mass re-enslavement of ourselves. The Lord knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper and not to harm, plans to give us hope and a future, we must not be defined by systems, limited by policies, or canceled by a past or confined by a sentence.
So, the real question before us today is no longer who is caught in the system, but “who will rise up through the system with hope in their hands, truth on their lips, and faith in their heart to believe that God’s plan is greater than any “exception” written by man?”
Blessed Juneteenth and Happy Father’s Day!
Matters of Faith 
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