On today’s date of December 6 in 1865, Georgia voted for the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The vote provided sufficient state support to officially ratify the amendment ending slavery in the United States.
Earlier, after the U.S. Senate had passed the amendment in April 1864, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the measure in January of 1865. The vote sent the amendment to the states for ratification, with that process ending on today’s date.
The Thirteenth Amendment
Thus, on today’s date, after more than a century of bloodshed by the lash followed by several years of bloodshed on the battlefield, these words were finally placed in the U.S. Constitution: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
A Song of Freedom: Redemption Song
They are beautiful words, long overdue, of course. The words of freedom remind me of some other beautiful words that begin, “Old pirates, yes, they rob I;/ Sold I to the merchant ships.” In honor of the anniversary of the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, it seems an appropriate time to join in to sing a song of freedom. The song, of course, is “Redemption Song” written by the great Bob Marley, who sings it live in the following video.
Marley wrote the song around 1979 after being diagnosed with cancer. He took the famous line “emancipate ourselves from mental slavery” from a speech by Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey.
Marley’s song, though, speaks in a broader context. He starts off singing about slave ships and ends with a plea for us to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery.
The powerful song is not locked in time or place, but it now belongs to the world. Earlier this year, Playing for Change created a cool video of performers from around the world — including Stephen Marley — joining in to create a beautiful cover of the song.
I suppose more Americans know the words to “Redemption Song” than to the Thirteenth Amendment. Yet, both continue to resonate around the world. Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom?
(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)