Also known as: badges or incidents of slavery · badge of slavery · incident of slavery · badges and incidents of slavery
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A form of private racial discrimination or subordination that Congress may prohibit under its Thirteenth Amendment enforcement power as a vestige of slavery. The category reaches conduct that perpetuates racial caste through denial of fundamental civil rights such as property ownership, education, and employment.
Belinda Baxter, a Black engineer at Brighton Manufacturing, applied to buy a company-owned home near the plant. The company refused her application and steered Black employees to inferior trailers on the outskirts. A federal statute bars such private racial refusals in property sales. Baxter's suit under the statute proceeds because the refusal qualifies as conduct Congress may reach.
Benito Benitez sought to enroll his child at a private nonsectarian academy. The school rejected the application solely because the family is Latino. Federal legislation enacted under the Thirteenth Amendment prohibits such private racial exclusions from education. Benitez's claim against the school is actionable.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Benjamin Brooks attempted to use a city swimming pool reserved for white residents. City officials closed the facility rather than integrate it. The closure perpetuated racial separation in a manner tied to historical subordination. Legislation targeting the practice as a badge or incident of slavery applies.
Blake Butler, a Black citizen under twenty-one, was barred from registering to vote in a state election. Congress enacted a statute extending the franchise to eighteen-year-olds to eliminate lingering racial barriers. Butler's registration proceeds under the federal provision. The statute rests on authority to address badges or incidents of slavery.
Byron Bishop applied to enroll his children at a private academy that admitted only white students. The school denied admission on racial grounds. A federal statute prohibits such private racial discrimination in education. Bishop may sue the academy under the statute.
Boubacar Bah, a Black applicant, was rejected for a position at Benson Motors despite superior qualifications. The company followed a pattern of excluding Black candidates from hiring. Federal legislation bars such private racial discrimination in employment. Bah's claim under the statute is valid.
Private racial discrimination in the sale or rental of property qualifies because it perpetuates historical patterns of racial subordination. Similar treatment applies to racial exclusions from private schools and employment. Congress may prohibit these practices through enforcement legislation even when no state action is involved.
Yes. The amendment contains no state action requirement, unlike the Fourteenth Amendment. Congress may therefore enact statutes that directly prohibit private racial discrimination when the conduct is treated as a badge or incident of slavery.
The Fourteenth Amendment enforcement power is limited to state action. The Thirteenth Amendment enforcement power extends to private conduct that constitutes a badge or incident of slavery, allowing Congress to reach private sellers, landlords, and employers.
…a public conveyance or place of amusement, refusing accommodations to colored people, cannot be justly regarded as imposing any badge of slavery or servitude upon the applicant, but only as involving an ordinary civil injury, properly cognizable by the laws of the State, and presumably subject to redress by those laws until the…