On September 9th, the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, over 20,000 prisoners across 24 states began the largest prison strike in United States history against what Michelle Alexander calls “the New Jim Crow”. In a criminal justice system where the 13th Amendment allows the forced labor of human beings convicted of crimes, these inmates have been pushed to the brink and are now taking a stand against unsafe living conditions and unfair labor practices.