PJI Premiers New Documentary “Prisons and Plantations” at Whitney Plantation
On Saturday, September 16, PJI held the premiere screening of our new documentary, “Prisons and Plantations: A History of Forced Labor in Louisiana” at Whitney Plantation in Wallace, LA. Following the screening, PJI Executive Director Samantha Kennedy led an intimate discussion with survivors of hard labor and Dr. Andrea Armstrong from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.
Before a packed crowd in an historic church building, the panelists shared their experiences of being forced to work while incarcerated, while being paid $0.02 to $0.04 an hour or nothing at all. Many visitors to the Whitney who dropped into the event were visibly moved by the testimony of individuals both on and off the screen.
“It totally feels like being a slave,” said Darren Shivers in the documentary. “All rights taken away from you. And being a young, black man in prison, you had no rights at all.”
Whitney Plantation holds a unique place in public history as a former plantation site transformed into a museum dedicated to telling the history of slavery through the eyes of the enslaved. Ahead of the screening, survivors of hard labor including Edna Gibson and Engrid Hamilton were given a tour of the site by Dr. Ibrahima Seck, Whitney's Director of Research.
As part of the event, PJI debuted a new report on compulsory agriculture labor at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) titled Punitive by Design. Co-authored with Dr. Armstrong, this report exposes the harsh conditions of forced labor at Angola and the serious harms caused by this practice. In addition to illuminating the history of forced prison labor in Louisiana, the report also helps preserve and uplift the voices of survivors of hard labor sentences.
At the event, PJI Associate Director for Civil Litigation Lydia Wright announced PJI’s groundbreaking lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Corrections and Prison Enterprises challenging the harsh and unconstitutional conditions of forced agricultural labor at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, or Angola.
We would like to thank our panelists for their bravery and commitment to sharing their stories. We also want to thank the law firm Davis Polk for their generous support as well as Dr. Andrea Armstrong and the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, the Whitney Plantation for their partnership, VOTE, and the ongoing support of Arnold Ventures.
Hear some of the testimony from the film on our End Plantation Prisons site.
Read our report, “Punitive by Design”.
Read the complaint from our lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Corrections and Prison Enterprises.
Photo and Video Credit to Jackson Hill.
