• by Fern Siegel , September 8, 2022

A new multimedia campaign — “Except for Me” — running through Sept. 17 is in support of the Abolition Amendment.

Created by agency EP+Co, in coordination with Worth Rises’ EndTheException.com, it asks viewers to end the 13^th Amendment’s exception clause, which allows slavery and involuntary servitude of the incarcerated.

Out-of-home postings featuring the 13 stories will be placed in New York and Philadelphia. The work is part of a larger ongoing campaign called #EndTheException, which continues nationwide.

The 13^th Amendment Section 1 Exceptions Clause states: “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.”

The campaign centers on the stories of 13 previously incarcerated people from diverse backgrounds. It launched on Labor Day and a story will be shared each day until Sept. 17 (Constitution Day).

Photos by Johnny Perez, a formerly incarcerated photographer, highlight each story. Viewers are asked to visit the site or text EndTheException to 52885 and send a letter in support of the Abolition Amendment to their Congressional representatives.

Mural Arts Philadelphia, Anti-Recidivism Coalition and LatinoJustice area also campaign partners. On Sept. 17, they will unveil the “Except for Me” wall in Philadelphia.

Created by EP+Co, the public art installation includes the faces, voices and stories of those once legally enslaved in the United States. The installation will feature the word “EXCEPT” made up of mailable postcards, each with an image of one person, a QR to their story, and call to action.

Attendees can send the postcards to Congress urging support for the Abolition Amendment. The wall will feature a QR code connected to endtheexception.com

“It’s exciting to be able to use our collective creative energy and production resources to help shed light on a glaring human-rights issue like the exception to the 13th Amendment,” said John Cornette, Chief Creative Officer, EP+Co.

Bianca Tylek, executive director, Worth Rises, added the alliance with the agency “allowed us to advocate in ways we could have never dreamed. And their support could not have come at a more important time as we take on one of our nation’s longest-standing evils: slavery.”