Is slavery still possible in Indiana?
A local minister and a state senator are expressing concern that disunity among African-American leaders is keeping that question from being answered once and for all.
During the current session of the Indiana Legislature, Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, introduced Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 15, which would remove a line from the state’s Constitution that would allow someone to be enslaved if they are convicted of a crime.
Article One, Section 37 of Indiana’s Constitution currently states that there “shall be neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude.”
However, it also mentions a glaring exception: “otherwise than for the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”
This wording, which seems to indicate that a Hoosier can technically be enslaved if convicted of a crime, concerned a group of local ministers who shared their sentiments with Delph, who introduced a resolution with the goal of making slavery illegal in Indiana under any circumstance.
“The case was made to me that it would be nice to have a straight statement about slavery without any kind of qualifications in it,” Delph said. “That made sense to me.”
Among the ministers who expressed concern about the slavery wording in the Indiana Constitution were Rev. Mmoja Ajabu, a longtime community activist, who joined other leaders in a recent forum on the issue at IUPUI.
“What civilized society would want the ability to enslave someone in their constitution,” asked Ajabu. “Civilized behavior dictates that no one should be enslaved for anything.”
Delph said he has been reaching out to Central Indiana’s African-American community on various issues, and proposing SJR 15 was another way to establish dialogue.
“It was also a way to address and recognize a very painful part of American history,” Delph said.
According to Ajabu and Delph there was originally support for SJR 15 among members of the Concerned Clergy, a longtime community service and civil rights organization, as well as Andrew Klein, dean of the Indiana University School of Law.
However, they also expressed disappointment at what they say is a major divide among African-American organizations, particularly influential local faith-based groups.
Those organizations, Ajabu and Delph say, for various reasons, could not seem to come to a collective agreement on whether or not to support SJR 15.
“Now, because they couldn’t come together on the issue of eliminating the language of slavery from the state Constitution, we still have legalized slavery in Indiana,” said Ajabu. “Can leadership in the city of Indianapolis unite for the benefit of the people?”
Delph agreed, saying he tried to reach out to faith-based groups, but that there seems to be “a lot of disunity” among them.
“It seemed like when I reached out to one group, another group would be upset,” Delph said. “That part was a very disappointing lesson to be learned. I think that is part of the problem with why we have so many young people who lack respect for authority.”
Ultimately, Delph’s resolution died in the committee process last week and will not be presented for a vote this session. In the Legislature, all proposals must be presented and given a hearing in a committee before moving to the full Legislature for a vote.
SJR 15 was tied up in the Judiciary Committee chaired by Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, and not given a hearing.
Delph did not blame Steele, a fellow Republican, for the fact that SJR 15 was not allowed to advance in the legislative process. He believes, with several bills requiring a hearing each week, committee members felt SJR 15 could not be given the time it deserves.
“Logistically in a short session, I think he felt the committee couldn’t do it justice with the time allotted and time constraints,” Delph said.
Still, not all hope is lost for those who support efforts to change language in the state’s Constitution and bury Indiana’s last official link to slavery.
During Monday’s Indianapolis City-County Council meeting, Councilman José Evans, a Republican, introduced a resolution supporting SJR 15.
Evans’ resolution offers its support by stating, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist in Indiana.”
The council voted to place Evans’ resolution on a committee for study, and it was assigned to the Rules Committee for further study before a final vote is taken. The Rules Committee will meet again on Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 260 of the City-County Building.
Delph plans to reintroduce SJR 15 during next year’s legislative session, but he and Ajabu are hopeful that support for the effort can be sparked by Evans’ resolution and that the momentum will increase over the next year.
“Hopefully, this time can be used to build a coalition to get everybody on board because it needs to be a unifying issue and handled respectfully with a full committee hearing and the ability of everyone to weigh in,” Delph said.
Ajabu believes there is hope that local leaders can work together.
“We need to bring everyone together on this issue, because what could be more important than making sure no one is enslaved for any reason,” Ajabu said.
Next week: The Recorder will share results from its effort to seek comments from the Baptist Ministers Alliance, the Concerned Clergy, the Indianapolis Chapter of the National Action Network, the Interdenominational Ministers Alliance and The Ten Point Coalition.
