Texas declared, “It shall be the duty of all Sheriffs, Justices of the Peace, and other civil officers of the several counties of the State, to report to the Judge of the County Court of their respective counties, at any time, all indigent or vagrant minors, within their respective counties or precincts, and, also, all minors whose parent or parents have not the means, or who refuse to support said minor.”4 When Black citizens inevitably broke these laws, they were sold to plantations and factory owners to work for free. Remember, slavery was abolished “except as a punishment for a crime,” so,
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