No!!!
Kanye West took to social media on Sunday to tell everyone that he supports the messages of Donald Trump while wearing a MAGA hat. In the same tweet, he wrote that he wants to abolish the 13th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America — the one that abolished slavery.
this represents good and America becoming whole again. We will no longer outsource to other countries. We build factories here in America and create jobs. We will provide jobs for all who are free from prisons as we abolish the 13th amendment. Message sent with love pic.twitter.com/a15WqI8zgu
— ye (@kanyewest) September 30, 2018
This came right after West’s performance on Saturday Night Live which included an unaired rant about how he supports Donald Trump to mediocre applause and a handful of boos.
Here’s a quick refresher on what exactly the 13th Amendment says:
Section 1. 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.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation
It is possible that West, with his reference to prisons in his tweet, was specifically referring to the part of the amendment which allows prisons to use inmates for slave labor. (Ava Duvernay’s 2016 Netflix documentary, 13th, explores this specifically.)
West did not specify this in his message, if that’s what he meant to imply, which led to some very mixed reactions online.
Yashar Ali
✔@yashar
SNL musical guest @kanyewest says the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery, should be repealed. Yes, the 13th amendment also allowed for prisoners to be used as slave labor but he doesn’t articulate that in his tweet leaving people confused and others delighted.
There’s nothing more maddening than debating someone who doesn’t know history, doesn’t read books, and frames their myopia as virtue. The level of unapologetic conjecture I’ve encountered lately isn’t just frustrating, it’s retrogressive, unprecedented and absolutely terrifying. https://t.co/4jCFwB4T5U
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) September 30, 2018
the 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise meaning it never ended We are the solution that heals
— ye (@kanyewest) September 30, 2018
