When the Civil War ended in 1865, living conditions and wage opportunities didn’t exactly improve for all African-Americans. In fact, Slavery By Another Name argues (in its very title) that the quality of life for many black Americans was nearly as disreputable as slavery.
On Wednesday at 6:30p at the Goodman South Branch Library, writer and Madison’s former poet laureate Fabu Carter will present clips from the PBS documentary. The film itself is a mix of the expected archival photographs (many of which are rather upsetting in their depictions of Reconstruction Era hate crimes), historians, and most notably, actors standing in for real historical case studies. From the plight of a black prisoner in a coal mine to one town’s oppressive white patriarch, these actors and surprisingly competent photography define and flesh out the now-illegal penal system of convict leasing, where an overwhelming number of African-American prisoners were wrongfully arrested and exploited for labor.
Slavery By Another Name is less about tracing events forward 150 years than it is about recollecting an overrlooked piece of American history, but it gets some introspective mileage out of its “talking heads” — many of whom aren’t historians but ancestors of the victims (and perpetrators) involved. One woman recalls the painful discovery that her family was directly responsible for perpetuating the exploitation of African-American labor. Her testimony is a powerful moment that manages to be personal without white-washing the issue.
Narrated by Laurence Fishburne’s dulcet cool, Slavery By Another Name again will be presented in clips rather than in its entirety– similar to how PBS’ entire four-part series was presented earlier this year at the State Historical Society.
- Slavery By Another Name plays FREE tonight at the Goodman South Branch Library at 6:30p.