A campaign for a November ballot measure to make “slavery” nothing but history in Colorado kicked off Tuesday.
Amendment T would remove a reference to slavery in the Colorado Constitution, written in 1876, that states, “There shall never be in this state either slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime.”
The latter clause is a reference to prison labor. Proponents say work programs would not be affected by the amendment. The archaic reference use of the word slavery, however, is unnecessary and conjures up remembrances of the nation’s conflict over the issue, said some of the about 100 people who attended Tuesday’s rally.
Both chambers of the Colorado legislature voted unanimously to put the constitutional amendment on the ballot during the last legislative session.
State Sen. Kent Lambert, a Republican from Colorado Springs, noted that the state was well-represented in the Civil War. Whether Western states such as Colorado would be free or slave-holding was one of the catalysts of that war.
“It’s part of the DNA of our state,” he said. “We oppose slavery. If it was an oversight (in the state constitution), we need to correct that oversight.”
Lambert, speaking at the foot of the Civil War soldier statue on the west side of the state Capitol, noted that the streets nearby are named Lincoln, Sherman and Grant for the Union’s leaders.
Rep. Jovan Melton, a Denver Democrat, said the issue is personal, for he is a descendant of slaves freed in North Carolina by the Emancipation Proclamation.
“In the 150 years since, the debate over slavery is over,” he said. “We all know it’s wrong in any and all forms, so why we still have an exemption or an exception in our state constitution doesn’t make sense.
“It doesn’t make any sense for the state of Colorado to say that slavery is OK in certain circumstances.”
Faith leaders said the issue is larger than semantics for African-Americans, religious values, the principle of liberty and the preservation of historical language in the state constitution.
“This is not a Colorado value,” said Lee McNeil of Shorter Community A.M.E. Church in Denver, referencing the subjugation of a race. “Morally, we all deserve to have dignity, freedom and equality. Our Colorado communities, families, churches, schools, places of worship must be able to focus on healing.”
