John —

Happy Juneteenth! Today we celebrate “Emancipation Day” in the United States — it’s the day when Union soldiers showed up in Galveston, Texas, to tell people the news that the war had ended and all slaves were now free.

By 1865, nearly two and a half years after Lincoln’s great decree, news of the Emancipation Proclamation still hadn’t reached Texas where some 250,000 slaves continued to labor unaware. But on June 19, the last remaining slaves in the defeated Confederate states were finally freed. Six months later the 13th Amendment was ratified, abolishing chattel slavery (in which one person owns another as property) but allowing slavery “as punishment for crime.”

Despite these laws, we know that absolute equality is far from reality for Black people in America today. Black communities have been continuously disenfranchised — from housing and banking policies that intentionally exclude them, to rampant voter suppression, to police brutality, to systemic racism in our criminal legal system.

Today, in honor of Juneteenth, we wanted to share some relevant articles on our site about the history of Juneteenth and how to be an ally in the pursuit of racial justice. We also share stories of the perseverance of people like Albert Woodfox, a former Black Panther, who overcame 45 years in solitary confinement in a penitentiary built on the grounds of a former Louisiana plantation.

We hope you’ll take some time today to read rich and insightful pieces. If we want to build more just and equitable systems, we must better understand our history. Here at the Innocence Project, we’re committed to advancing racial justice — and we’re so grateful to have you in this fight with us.


A Former Black Panther Reflects on Life After 45 Years of Solitary Confinement

Albert Woodfox spent 44 years and 10 months in Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola prison) in solitary confinement — believed to be the longest period anyone in American history has ever spent in solitary.⁠ In 1972, a white correctional officer at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola prison) was killed. Two prisoners and Black Panthers — Mr. Woodfox and Herman Wallace — were immediately targeted as suspects, despite a lack of evidence, and convicted. Together with Robert King, a fellow Black Panther convicted of a separate murder in prison in 1973, the men became known as the Angola Three. All three maintained their innocence for decades. ⁠

Despite the grave injustice of his wrongful incarceration and the horrors of sustained solitary confinement, Mr. Woodfox emerged an activist whose spirit remains unbroken.

Read more:

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The Lasting Legacy of Parchman Farm, the Prison Modeled After a Slave Plantation

Mississippi State Penitentiary (also known as Parchman) was built on the grounds of a former slave plantation. Today, Black Mississippians account for 70% of Parchman’s incarcerated population, while making up just 37% of the state’s population and they work in the same fields that their enslaved ancestors once plowed and tended. Learn more about the history of Parchman on our site.

Read more:

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Here Are 5 Ways to Be a Better Ally

At the Innocence Project, liberation is core to the work we do. So in commemoration of Juneteenth, we offer five ideas for being a better ally in the struggle for racial justice, drawn from our five pillars of work: exonerate, improve, reform, support, and educate. Take a moment today to read through this piece, and then share it online.

Read more:

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Tell Congress to Eliminate Qualified Immunity

Under the current law, qualified immunity shields public officials from liability for misconduct, even when they have broken the law. It means we can’t hold government officials like police officers accountable for wrongdoing. But we have an opportunity to change that. Right now, Congress is in negotiations around policing reform, and any meaningful reform package must include the elimination of qualified immunity. So today, we’re asking you to please contact members of Congress now! Dial 202-949-6846 or click here and we will connect you.

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Started in 1992 as a legal clinic at Cardozo School of Law, the Innocence Project is now an independent nonprofit, affiliated with Cardozo, that exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.

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