Slavery by Another Name

"As painful as it may be to plow the past, among the ephemera left behind by generations crushed in the wheels of American white supremacy are telling explanations for the fissures that still thread our society."

“In the absence of any means to supply freed slaves with land, the Freedmen’s Bureau and northern military commanders stationed in the South encouraged blacks to enter into labor contracts with whites."

"As Green grew into school age and then adolescence, the family increasingly felt the repercussions of two convulsive crescendos building toward a climax early in the next century."

Explore the little-known story of the labor practices and laws that effectively created a new form of slavery in the South that persisted into the 20th century. Laurence Fishburne narrates.

Douglas A. Blackmon describes the crushing effects of Plessy v. Ferguson and its message that the fiction of equality would be upheld by government.

Historian Khalil Muhammad explains the period after reconstruction, the establishment of Pig Laws and how that led to changes in prison populations.

Historian Mary Ellen Curtin explains positions of power and how white supremacists were in elected government positions.

Historian Pete Daniel explains the thirteenth amendment and why it didn't actually abolish slavery.

UW Clemons explains the company town built by US Steel in the 1900s for its workers.

Descendant Tonya Groomes talks about her role as family historian and her connection to a lost continent of people.

Southern Storyboard was commissioned by Vulcan Park and Museum to create a film for the museum’s 2011 exhibition The Music Lives On: Folk Song Traditions Told by Alabama Artists, honoring the Year of Alabama Music. This documentary follows three Birmingham folk artists—Lonnie Holley, Richard Dial, and Joe Minter—as they explain how music has inspired their artistry.

Descendant Sharon Malone reflects on the Great Migration and how the daily indignities led people to leave in addition to the violence.