2d (edited) • Articles | Resources
Angola, where prisoners labor picking cotton on plantations
Most people learn about slavery as something that ended in 1865.
What they are often not taught is that the 13th Amendment abolished slavery except as punishment for a crime.
That exception matters.
This week, a federal judge rejected an effort to end Angola Prison's notorious "farm line" labor system in Louisiana. Angola sits on the site of a former plantation and is named after the homeland of many of the enslaved Africans who were forced to labor there. Today, incarcerated people—predominantly Black men—continue to work the fields under armed supervision for pennies per hour, if they are paid at all.
The lawsuit argued that forcing people to perform agricultural labor in extreme heat, under threat of punishment, violated the Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The judge acknowledged the conditions were severe, but said a recent appeals court decision limited what relief he could provide.
For me, this isn't just a prison story.
It's a history story.
It's a capitalism story.
It's a race story.
It's a story about how systems evolve rather than disappear.
You don't have to agree with every argument made by advocates to wrestle with the reality that a prison built on a plantation still uses plantation-style labor, primarily involving Black men, in 2026.
Questions for reflection:
• What were you taught about the 13th Amendment?
• When does punishment become exploitation?
• What is the difference between rehabilitation and forced labor?
• What systems from the past have changed form without disappearing?
• What does accountability look like without dehumanization?
📚 Sources:
Angola for Life:
If you've taken my course, this is a powerful example of why we study systems, not just individual prejudice. History doesn't simply vanish. Often, it adapts.
0
0 comments
Angola, where prisoners labor picking cotton on plantations
powered by
skool.com/deconstructing-theater-1925
We're deconstructing white supremacy, antiblackness, race, and racism in theater and our daily lives.
Suggested communities
Powered by