I want to share an excerpt from my recent section-by-section breakdown of The Biden Plan For Strengthening America’s Commitment To Justice.

*Redmption | Created by Jay W. Austin & DALL•E*

Here’s a core principle of Biden’s plan: Our criminal justice system must be focused on redemption and rehabilitation.

Nothing controversial about this principle, right? Well…

The first people to advocate for the abolition of slavery believed that slavery was a sin. Man—especially a Christian man—should not possess another man—especially if that other man was a Christian.

However, early white abolitionists also believed black people were born a sin. Africans apparently descended from Cain. The skin was black because the soul was too.

Their blackened souls were redeemable.

White abolitionists may have abhorred slavery, but they didn’t love black people for who they were. They loved Africans because of their potential to be redeemed and rehabilitated.

Now isn’t the time to unpack how this mindset was also used against Native Americans and Mexicans. (For a non-fun time, google “manifest destiny” and “mexican american war.”)

And let’s keep in mind that the American penitentiary system was developed by people who believed that our system should be designed to redeem and rehabilitate.

That went downhill fast.

So do I disagree that our system would be better if redemption and rehabilitation were the main purposes of our criminal justice system? No, I don’t.

I just want reformists and decarcerators like you and me to really ask people what they mean when they say they want to rehab and redeem people.

People might be surprised at how often it’s us who needs the redemption.

Aye, I’m Jay. You’re on my personal site where I post things I make about interrupting mass incarceration, protecting migration, environmental justice & sustainability, language, communications, storytelling, creativity, and tech.

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