“According to the
Left Business Observer, “the federal prison industry produces 100 percent of all military
helmets, war supplies and other equipment. The workers supply 98 percent
of the entire market for equipment assembly services; 93 percent of paints
and paintbrushes; 92 percent of stove assembly; 46 percent of body armor;
36 percent of home appliances; 30 percent of
headphones/microphones/speakers; and 21 percent of office furniture.”
From low wages to various forms of exploitation, prison labor is a billion
dollar industry that is historically rooted in racial discrimination and
the mass incarceration of Black people. Modern slavery? Well, I hope that
as you labored through these pages, you learned more about the prison
industry and are more aware about the injustices behind mass
incarceration. I utilized a lot of hyperlinks to get you clicking (even to
do some useless clicking), but this isn’t even close to the real
experience of labor. Although this website lightly touches on the
narrative of prison labor, there are a lot of deep and historical roots of
racial injustice and low wages behind this system. Aside from creating
this website to educate others about the prison labor industry, I also
look forward to your responses if you did any further research “googling”
other prison-made objects! By sharing your own photos of prison-made
objects that you see in your daily life, I hope that you’ll feel a
personal connection to the topic, as people can often view prisoners as an
isolated community that doesn't affect them. But prison labor affects you,
me, everyone, the economy, and especially the prisoners themselves.