Apr 13, 2021
In 1865 the state legislature of Alabama passed the Black Code, an important landmark toward the repression of African labor.
Similar to Decree 177 in Guatemala, the Black Code of Alabama consisted of a vagrancy law and a law against the “enticement” of laborers. It was designed to impede labor mobility and reduce competition in the labor market, and it ensured that southern planters would still have a reliable low cost labor pool