Prostitution flourished especially after the abolishment of slavery in 1905 as former slave wives under the feudal system found themselves alone and without financial support.
In 2016, Dr. Earl Lewis convened a meeting on slavery among 40 principle collaborators—scholars, organizations, and instiutions—at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Out of this meeting came the "Slavery and Its Aftermath" initiative at the Center for Social Solutions. This project aims to tackle America’s original sin—slavery.