Greene Cottingham: Slavery by Another Name

During Reconstruction, the twelve years following the Civil War, southern industrialists instituted a system of convict leasing, in which prisoners were leased out to private businesses—from plantations to corporations—to fill shortages in the labor supply, as well as to reinstitute control over newly freed Black southerners and to reestablish political control over the region. State-run prisons profited enormously by providing private parties with cheap labor. This is the story of one prisoner who was caught up in this system: Greene Cottingham. More videos from the Bending the Arc Project historical timeline: https://bendingthearcproject.com/time... Produced by the Bending the Arc Project: https://bendingthearcproject.com/