Labor Policy
It may be surprising, but court records indicate that two years ago there were twenty-eight separate cases of proven human slavery in the city of Baltimore, and, a colleague of mine assured me, that close study of social services records would reveal at least as many more cases that were dismissed or improperly investigated. He said that at least half of these questionable cases, most involving the adoption of adolescent children by distant (and not-so-distant) relatives, could be revealed as cases of human slavery, but only if social services ignored the stringent rules set by the city to justify unannounced home visits, which are time intensive, and often dangerous, operations. Documented accounts of neighbors and witnesses detail screaming children kept home on weekdays, forced to work on what can only be described as suspicious mail-order businesses. Some suspects are even accused of serially adopting unwanted children to establish a full unpaid labor force. Complaints are made in many cases, but there must be a certain number lodged to justify an investigation, and files are closed after a certain time has passed, which, in turn, causes the complaint count to be reset to zero. These files, after several years, become public record, but, my friend noted, that they often disappear mysteriously when new complaints are lodged against a household that was reported in the past. Officials say that this policy is in place as an austerity measure. If they investigated claims of human slavery that were registered once, twice, or even three times, then they would need to hire dozens more detectives, an unthinkable cost. Even though it would most likely afford more than one hundred city residents their basic human freedoms, they would surely be angry and emotionally damaged, putting an incalculable strain on the city's counseling services and penal system. The City Council supports this policy and, by necessity, ranks human slavery very low on the list of the city's woes.
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Author's Note
This is one of one hundred of so 'Atrocities of Baltimore' pieces I'm currently rewriting. Eventually they'll include drawings too.
Is this true? Unbelievable.
So you come to Bmore for 510 readings and then destroy us in writing. Kimball, Michalski, Robinson, and Young cannot be happy about this. Or, more likely, they're probably thrilled. Enjoyed your reading last year.
I used to deal with the City while working as an attorney in Bmore. They rank many things very low on the list of the city's woes.
"The City Council supports this policy and, by necessity, ranks human slavery very low on the list of the city's woes."
I balked when I started hearing people toss "slavery" around as an everyday metaphor in our time. This short piece reminds me: not a metaphor.
The world needs a story called "Labor Policy." Genre is a focus when I read it. It seems when a writer outside the context of journalism refers to real-world events, as this seems to do, it harnesses creative power.
as a former Baltimorian (or is it Baltimoron?), though I do dearly love that city, the subject of this piece rings true, regardless of its veracity. Rings true of any number of cities, and their councils. Hope to read more of the "Atrocities"
To echo Ann: slavery is not a metaphor. Thanks for posting this.
Maybe not true in the journalistic sense, but I think Ann describes well where this story came from.
And, David, the existence of Baltimore in this book is definitely a tribute. I have great affection for my time there, and the hospitality from all those folks when I went back. I can only imagine what your experience was like as an attorney.
Thanks for reading. This has been really helpful. More 'atrocities' soon.
Ha, thanks, John. I look forward to reading more of these. The folks in Bmore that I'm in touch with now (Kimball, Michalski, Young, Robinson, Korpon, etc.) are a smidge more fun talking to than the attorneys/city officials I dealt with as an attorney. ha ha
Incidentally, I lived in Fells Point and Charles Village for years. Now I'm in the burbs but close enough to make it into the 510 readings whenever I can.
Good luck with this project and hope to see you next time you're in town.
I'm hoping to get back down as soon as I can!
I lived in Charles Village for a few years, right across from the Wyman "Dog Bowl." Still miss that place.
Ha, I lived in University One Apts (Univ. and Charles), right near Hopkins. We moved when we had our first child, but I miss Bmore a lot.
I'll keep an eye out on things and make sure to hit up BMore when you come for a reading. I'm pretty pumped to read more of this series. What a great city to examine. David Simon ripped it apart and paid homage and did about everything else you could on TV but some things like what you have here are made for the page.
Is there another kind of slavery other than human?
Is there another kind of slavery other than human?
yes, thanks for this. this went straight under my skin.
interesing concept:
"This is one of one hundred of so 'Atrocities of Baltimore' pieces" - is there another piece online somewhere?
Nothing yet. I'm keeping them all in my notebook until the book is done. Still have 100 or so drawings to do. Just wanted some response to this one because I myself didn't know what to make of it.