Slavery by Another Name

Slavery by Another Name challenges the widely held belief that slavery in the United States ended with the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. It reveals how new forms of forced labor emerged in the American South following the Civil War, effectively re-enslaving hundreds of thousands of African Americans until the onset of World War II.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Douglas Blackmon, the film spans eight decades from 1865 to 1945, uncovering the interlocking forces in both the South and the North that enabled this system of “neoslavery” to begin and persist. Through a combination of archival photographs, dramatic re-enactments, and interviews with descendants of both victims and perpetrators, the documentary brings to light the forgotten stories of those trapped in this brutal system.

The film exposes how a partnership of corporations, state governments, local sheriffs, farmers, and judges systematically exploited African Americans through various means. Black men were routinely arrested on false or trivial charges such as vagrancy, loitering, or speaking to a white woman in a manner deemed inappropriate by white people. After arrest, these men were sentenced to hard labor and charged with additional fees and fines. Large corporations or individuals would then pay off the prisoner’s debt in exchange for their labor, effectively re-enslaving them for years.

This system of convict leasing forced African American men to work under harsh conditions in mines, factories, and farms for major companies as unpaid laborers. They faced abuse, torture, and often death at the hands of guards and fellow workers. The documentary highlights how this practice continued in various forms up until World War II, challenging the conventional narrative presented in many history books.

Slavery by Another Name also addresses the broader context of racial oppression in the post-Civil War South. Despite the 14th and 15th Amendments granting political rights to African Americans, they were not treated as equal citizens. The film discusses how even technically free African Americans, such as sharecroppers, lived under white oppression, limiting their ability to move, seek employment, or demand fair compensation.