A Southern Chain Gang
Detroit Publishing Company photograph collection, Library of Congress
Black Orphans in the Convict Lease System
Library of Congress
A candlelight vigil was held in honor of Juneteenth and the Sugar Land 95 at Mayfield Park on June 1
A Southern Chain Gang
Detroit Publishing Company photograph collection, Library of Congress
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CONVICT LEASING
AND LABOR PROJECT
The mission of the Convict Leasing and Labor Project is to expose the history and ongoing impact of the convict leasing system and its connection to modern prison slavery while restoring the dignity of all victims of forced labor and their descendants.
WHO ARE THE
SUGAR LAND 95?
The first bone was found in February 2018, by a backhoe operator clawing through the dirt on land owned by the Fort Bend Independent School District. By the summer, the remains of 94 men and one woman, all African-American victims of convict leasing, had been recovered on the future site of a career and technical education center. Ranging in age from 14 to 70, the inmates had muscular builds but were malnourished, their bones misshapen from back-breaking, repetitive labor. They were buried in plain pine boxes sometime between 1878 and 1911. CLLP has been at the forefront of the fight to preserve the Sugar Land 95's burial ground and ensure they are properly memorialized.
NEWS
December 27, 2018
Discovery of African-American graves in Texas highlights 'moment of reckoning'
Monica Rhor / USA TODAY
January 9, 2019
‘Human lives were not of value’: African-American remains awaken history of convict-leasing system
Brooke A. Lewis / Houston Chronicle
March 7, 2019
Bones that revealed a Texas town's forgotten racial past deserve respect
Morgan Jerkins / The Guardian
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All Black Cemeteries Matter: Tell The Truth of the Sugar Land 95
On February 3rd, the Texas Historical Commission will announce which Texas cemeteries will receive an Undertold Stories Marker. Last year, the Sugar Land 95 Burial Site was nominated for an Undertold Stories Marker from the Texas Historical Commission. If chosen, the burial ground would receive recognition as the Bullhead Convict Labor Camp Cemetery.
On February 1st, 2022, we launched a petition. You can’t honor what’s not true. The Sugar Land 95 did not die at Bullhead. The Sugar Land 95 were killed by forced labor at an Ellis Camp.
Lots of people have no idea this is happening in their own backyard. Tell your friends, neighbors, community groups and churches. Let them know you support CLLP and its efforts to properly memorialize the Sugar Land 95. Get in touch with CLLP to learn more about our work and how you can get involved. We are seeking volunteers in all fronts!
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