Pardon Petitions and Resistance among Black Women on Convict Contracts in the American South

• In Event: Windows into Historical Crime and Punishment

Abstract

At the turn of the twentieth century, hundreds of Black women were incarcerated in convict contracts, on chain gangs, or withering in state prison hospitals in southern states. This paper examines the ways women were trapped in convict leasing, a form of incarceration that sent people to work hard labor while serving a criminal sentence or paying off debts attached to their cases. States leased incarcerated laborers, who were disproportionately Black, through contracts with a range of private companies engaged in mining, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, lumber, and other industries. Convict leasing was widespread in the south, but it was also contested. Women escaped from camps, protested their conditions, and petitioned for clemency. While some acts of resistance were small or unsuccessful –protests during a fatal beating or attempted escapes – they shed light on resistance to violence produced by incarceration.
This paper contributes to the history of corrections by analyzing archival documents capturing the experiences of Black women forced into convict contracts. The archives records illuminate the ways incarcerated women navigated violence, corruption, and abuse. Analysis of these episodes offers a window into the racialized, gendered power structure convict contracts cemented and ultimately influenced incarceration and segregation in American society.

Author

• Bonnie Ernst, Indiana University