In this groundbreaking historical exposé, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history—an “Age of Neoslavery” that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II. Under laws enacted specifically to intimidate blacks, tens of thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily arrested, hit with outrageous fines, and charged for the costs of their own arrests. With no means to pay these ostensible “debts,” prisoners were sold as forced laborers to coal mines, lumber camps, brickyards, railroads, quarries, and farm plantations. Thousands of other African Americans were simply seized by southern landowners and compelled into years of involuntary servitude. Government officials leased falsely imprisoned blacks to small-town entrepreneurs, provincial farmers, and dozens of corporations—including U.S. Steel—looking for cheap and abundant labor. Armies of “free” black men labored without compensation, were repeatedly bought and sold, and were forced through beatings and physical torture to do the bidding of white masters for decades after the official abolition of American slavery. The neoslavery system exploited legal loopholes and federal policies that discouraged prosecution of whites for continuing to hold black workers against their wills. As it poured millions of dollars into southern government treasuries, the new slavery also became a key instrument in the terrorization of African Americans seeking full participation in the U.S. political system. Based on a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Slavery by Another Name unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude. It also reveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against the re-emergence of human labor trafficking, the modern companies that profited most from neoslavery, and the system’s final demise in the 1940s, partly due to fears of enemy propaganda about American racial abuse at the beginning of World War II. Slavery by Another Name is a moving, sobering account of a little-known crime against African Americans, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today.

Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II

History

Blackmon, Douglas A.

Americas

DOUBLEDAY

A Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the “Age of Neoslavery,” the American period following the Emancipation Proclamation in which convicts, mostly black men, were “leased” through forced labor camps operated by state and federal governments. In this groundbreaking historical expose, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history—an “Age of Neoslavery” that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II.
Using a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Douglas A. Blackmon unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude shortly thereafter. By turns moving, sobering, and shocking, this unprecedented account reveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against the re-emergence of human labor trafficking, the companies that profited most from neoslavery, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today.

Vintage

In this provocative memoir, Barack Obama's history-making attorney general reveals the story of his life.

Pursuing Justice

Biographies & Memoirs

Holder, Éric

Historical

Random House Audio |

“An astonishing book. . . . It will challenge and change your understanding of what we were as Americans — and of what we are.” — Chicago TribuneIn this groundbreaking historical exposé, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history — an “Age of Neoslavery” that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II.Using a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Blackmon unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude shortly thereafter. By turns moving, sobering, and shocking, this unprecedented account reveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against the re-emergence of human labor trafficking, the companies that profited most from neoslavery, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today.“The genius of Blackmon’s book is that it illuminates both the real human tragedy and the profoundly corrupting nature of the Old South slavery as it transformed to establish a New South social order.” — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution“A formidably researched, powerfully written, wrenchingly detailed narrative.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Community & Culture

BRILLIANCE AUDIO ^

“An astonishing book. . . . It will challenge and change your understanding of what we were as Americans ― and of what we are.” ― Chicago Tribune In this groundbreaking historical exposé, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history ― an “Age of Neoslavery” that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II. Using a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Blackmon unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude shortly thereafter. By turns moving, sobering, and shocking, this unprecedented account reveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against the re-emergence of human labor trafficking, the companies that profited most from neoslavery, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today. “The genius of Blackmon’s book is that it illuminates both the real human tragedy and the profoundly corrupting nature of the Old South slavery as it transformed to establish a New South social order.” ― The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “A formidably researched, powerfully written, wrenchingly detailed narrative.” ― St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"An astonishing book. . . . It will challenge and change your understanding of what we were as Americans -- and of what we are." -- Chicago Tribune In this groundbreaking historical exposé, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history -- an "Age of Neoslavery" that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II.Using a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Blackmon unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude shortly thereafter. By turns moving, sobering, and shocking, this unprecedented account reveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against the re-emergence of human labor trafficking, the companies that profited most from neoslavery, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today."The genius of Blackmon's book is that it illuminates both the real human tragedy and the profoundly corrupting nature of the Old South slavery as it transformed to establish a New South social order." -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"A formidably researched, powerfully written, wrenchingly detailed narrative." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Slavery By Another Name

Bernard, Sheila Curran

Bacon, Michael

Copyright Collection (Library of Congress)

PBS Distribution (Firm)

Pollard, Sam

Fishburne, Laurence

Pollard, Jason L.

Tpt National Productions

Two Dollars And A Dream (firm)

Pbs Distribution

Pursuing Justice (Random House Large Print)

Random House, Large Print

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