Angola Prison: A World Of Secrets And Stories

In his book, *How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America*, Clint Smith visits several sites across the United States to explore the country's history of slavery. One of these sites is the Angola Prison, officially known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Smith embarks on a guided tour of the prison, which has a reputation as one of the largest and most violent prisons in the country. He is joined by Norris Henderson, a political advocate and former prisoner who was wrongfully incarcerated at Angola for twenty-seven years. Smith's visit to Angola Prison serves as a powerful illustration of the continuity of Black history and the enduring legacy of slavery in the American penal system.

Angola Prison's history as a plantation

The Angola State Penitentiary, also known as "The Farm", is a maximum-security prison in Louisiana, United States. It was established in 1901 on the site of a former slave plantation called Angola, named after the country in Southern Africa from which many enslaved people originated. The 8,000-acre plantation was purchased by the state in 1900 and the prison opened the following year.

The history of the site as a plantation dates back to before the American Civil War when it was known as the Angola Plantations, owned by slave trader Isaac Franklin. After his death in 1846, his widow, Adelicia Cheatham, sold the plantation in 1880 to former Confederate Major Samuel L. James.

James moved a small number of male and female prisoners to Angola, where they worked the plantation fields and maintained the house. The site became known as the James Prison Camp. The remaining prisoners continued to work on levee and railroad construction or farm work at other plantations.

During this period, the convict leasing system was in operation, whereby the state leased convicts to private companies for forced labour. This system was banned in 1898 following public outcry over the harsh conditions and rising inmate deaths at Angola.

The state purchased the prison camp from the James family in 1900 and resumed control of its prisoners in 1901, marking the end of convict leasing and the beginning of an era of improved conditions for inmates.

The convict lease system

Black Codes, which regulated the lives of African Americans, were used to arrest and convict individuals of petty crimes such as walking on the grass, vagrancy, and stealing food. Professional crime hunters, who were paid for each person arrested, often made these arrests. Even those declared innocent in court were placed in the system if they could not pay their court fees.

Companies and individuals paid leasing fees to state, county, and local governments in exchange for prisoner labour in various industries, including farming, mining, manufacturing, and railroads. The convict leasing fees generated substantial revenue for southern state budgets and lasted through World War II. The system was highly profitable for both lessees and state governments, but it resulted in brutal working and living conditions for the prisoners.

The nominal wages given to prison labourers drove down honest labour markets and decreased living standards. The labour movement fought against the convict lease system as it suppressed employee wages and increased unemployment. Manufacturers also opposed the system as they could not compete with companies using cheap convict labour.

The overrepresentation of Black people in the US prison system

The US criminal justice system is heavily impacted by the bias of police mentality and outdated judicial precedents. Racial disparities are a defining characteristic, directly obstructing and deconstructing minority communities. Despite the gap in incarceration rates narrowing, Black people remain overrepresented in jail populations, admissions, and stay longer on average.

History

The origins of modern-day police mentality can be traced back to "Slave Patrols". The earliest formal slave patrol was created in the Carolinas in the 1700s, with the mission to establish a system of terror in response to slave uprisings. Slave Patrols continued until the end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment.

Statistics

Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate of White Americans. They make up 13% of the US population but are 38% of the people in jails and prisons. In 12 states, more than half of the prison population is Black.

Black people were admitted to jail at more than four times the rate of White people and stayed in jail for 12 more days on average. In 2019, Black people were admitted to jail in all three counties at a rate of at least double that of White or Hispanic people.

Causes

There are three recurrent explanations for racial disparities:

• A painful and enduring legacy of racial subordination
• Biased policies and practices that create or exacerbate disparities
• Structural disadvantages that perpetuate disparities

Solutions

Ashley Nellis, a senior research analyst for The Sentencing Project, has proposed three recommendations to address racial disparities:

• Eliminate mandatory sentences for all crimes
• Require racial impact statements to calculate the impact of proposed crime legislation on different populations and repeal existing racially biased laws
• Decriminalize low-level drug offenses

The continuity of Black history

In his book "How the Word is Passed", Clint Smith explores the continuity of Black history in America, specifically focusing on the legacy of slavery and its impact on the present. One of the sites he visits is the Angola Prison in Louisiana, a former plantation turned maximum-security prison. The prison is notable for its size and bloody history, and Smith's visit reveals a stark contrast between the official narrative presented by the prison and the actual history of the site, which is shrouded in centuries of institutionalized racism and brutality.

Smith's visit to Angola Prison is guided by Norris Henderson, a political advocate and spokesperson who was wrongfully imprisoned at Angola for twenty-seven years. Through his conversations with Henderson and his own observations, Smith highlights how the prison's current demographics and treatment of prisoners are directly connected to the history of slavery and legal changes that enabled the convict leasing institution to thrive. Angola Prison, which is built on land that was once a plantation, is now filled with Black men serving life sentences and working across the 18,000-acre land for virtually no pay. Smith draws a powerful comparison to illustrate the ingrained nature of American racial prejudice:

> "If in Germany today there were a prison built on top of a former concentration camp and that prison disproportionately incarcerated Jewish people, it would rightly provoke outrage throughout the world."

Smith's exploration of Angola Prison is part of a larger journey through historical landmarks in America that have been shaped by slavery. He visits sites such as the Monticello Plantation in Virginia, the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana, and Blandford Cemetery, the final resting place of tens of thousands of Confederate soldiers. At each site, Smith reveals how the history of slavery is hidden in plain view and how the stories we tell about the past shape our understanding of the present.

Smith's work is a powerful example of public history, bringing to light the dark underbelly of racist Americana and challenging sanitized narratives perpetuated in schools and historical sites. By exploring the continuity of Black history, Smith provides a new understanding of the hopeful role that memory and history can play in making sense of America's past and present. He argues that a more complete and multifaceted understanding of our past is necessary to help construct a more egalitarian future.

The Angola Prison Museum

The museum also showcases the prison's horse-drawn hearse, built by prisoners, which has "proven to promote compassion and decrease fear among the inmate population". The prison covers 26 square miles and is surrounded by deadly natural barriers, including the Mississippi River and a woodland full of dangerous creatures, making a prison wall unnecessary.

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