Betsy Ross Behind Bars

Sunday was Flag Day, a day for Americans to mark the adoption of the American flag as well, the American flag. Oddly it's not a Federal holiday and only one state marks it as a holiday. But from my memory of childhood, it was a day we always talked about in school including learning the legend of Betsy Ross:

According to the oral history, in 1777, three men-George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross, visited Betsy Ross in her upholstery shop. Washington pulled a folded piece of paper from his inside coat pocket. On it, was a sketch of a flag with thirteen red and white stripes and thirteen six pointed stars.

Washington asked if Betsy could make a flag from the design. Betsy responded: "I do not know, but I will try."

To mark Flag Day, NPR ran a piece on how many states require that all flags flown at government buildings be made in the USA. Remember the fiasco over American flags being made in China after the 2001 terrorist attacks? Maryland is one of those states. Not only are their flags made in the U.S. of A, but they are also made in American prisons.

Rosenne Smith, an inmate in Maryland who makes flags, chose the work over education because she already had a high school diploma. She talked about (sorry transcript unavailable at this time) how much pride she takes in making American flags.

Part of me is proud of her. She sounded as if she truly is proud and who knows if or when she can be released from prison (NPR didn't get into that part of the story) if this could be one of those moments that changes her life. Yet the other part of me knows that she is earning pennies to make those flags. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons:

Sentenced inmates are required to work if they are medically able. Institution work assignments include employment in areas like food service or the warehouse, or work as an inmate orderly, plumber, painter, or groundskeeper. Inmates earn 12¢ to 40¢ per hour for these work assignments.

Some are earning money to send home, pay for child support and even for repaying the state for their incarceration. All well and good. But if corporations are using prisoners to get their goods made, why can't they pay them at least minimum wage? Especially if this is one way to pay for our culture of incarceration. It's a fight that seems to be a lost cause since courts have ruled that it is legal to pay prisoners such low wages. But it is a fight that can be won if we see prisoners are human beings and that their incarceration as punishment and that super-low or slave wages is not justified.

[Image: Wikimedia Commons]

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