Locked Up: The prison labor that built business empires

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More than 150 years ago, the Lone Rock stockade prison complex operated at one of the biggest coal mines in Tennessee. It was powered largely by African American men arrested for minor offenses who were leased to private companies for the dangerous work.

Convict leasing was essentially a new form of slavery that started after the Civil War and went on for decades across the South. States — and companies — got rich by arresting mostly Black men and then forcing them to work for major companies.The 13th Amendment, passed after the Civil War, banned slavery and involuntary servitude. But it made an exception for people convicted of a crime, offering legal cover for convict leasing.

The men risked their lives every day above ground too, manning fiery, dome-shaped coke ovens used in the iron-making process. In Tennessee, people were sentenced up to five years of hard labor in the coal mine for having interracial relationships.The United States Steel Corporation, also known as U.S. Steel, was founded by American business giants, which included J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie. It has operations in the U.S. and Central Europe, and remains a leading steel producer.

 

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They’re criminals. Doesn’t matter their race. You break the law, you pay the price. Are we now supposed to treat criminals in the same manner as we treat law abiding citizens? Abide by the laws and you won’t find yourself in this situation.

Please report in the first person killed in the Tulsa massacre - an old white man. You won’t

Duck Town Tennessee

Why are weliving in the past stop this BS!

This is what trump and his WASP deplorables would like to reenact

Race card exploitation enjoy the self righteousness it’s fleeting

blinxeto Reparations Now!

bastardspod IwriteOK Please talk about this.

you mean slaves

And plenty of men of every other color did the same work on the “ outside” barely feeding themselves and their families, WHAT IS YOUR POINT? More race Baiting Media Propaganda ….most people of every color see right through your manure……

MollyKDP kristyshl 🤬 shit don’t change CRT nope

Lawrence This is why the gop wants our history erased. They plan on continuing these atrocities.😡

Convict lease system- instituted to have slavery but not callit slavery

More hidden history.

Follow the money. TaxTheRich TaxTheChurches

Lawrence Extremely minor offenses! To be exact!

And so? Many things 150 to 0ver 200 yrs ago were terrible. I question why now you bring this up? All businesses are built on the backs of people. Today they do not do this crap but back then it was different. Prisons use prisoners for all sort of labor today.

BlackKnight10k

You mean they were sold

Free labor is still a thing today within the prison system. Why do you think they're all going private. Now you know why they'll arrest people for j walking. It's all about free labor & profit.

Is there a word for 'prisoners with jobs'?

kamala did it... talk about that..

alexanderchee So…enslaved prisoners

Another form of of slavery. America just couldn't let go of its heritage.

ClintSmithIII

Now do Irish and Chinese.

Must be election time. Democrats have to push the racist card. Can’t win on your ideas so you push division. You’re not journalist . You’re propagandist.

Well, thank goodness they don't do THAT anymore.

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