S.O.J.E.S.'s A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022
Award-winning author was the keynote speaker at Black History Month event
on the fourth anniversary of the discovery of the Sugar Land 95
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Matthew J. Mancini, Ph.D., author of the book One Dies, Get Another: Convict Leasing in the American South: 1866-1928, was the keynote speaker at A Day of Remembrance, S.O.J.E.S.'s Black History Month community event commemorating the fourth anniversary of the discovery of the Sugar Land 95.
On February 19, 2018, the first of the remains of at least 95 victims of convict leasing in Sugar Land was uncovered by a backhoe operator helping to construct the James Reese Career and Technical Center, a Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) technical high school.
Since the discovery in 2018, a variety of efforts have begun to learn more about - and properly honor - the Sugar Land 95. These events include a news conference by S.O.J.E.S. and community leaders, a large Juneteenth Celebration by S.O.J.E.S. in 2021, and the recently announced plans to create an outdoor learning space and Sugar Land 95 cemetery enhancements by the FBISD (see story below).
Mancini's speech focused on one of the most exploitative labor systems in America’s history. His book describes the seemingly uneven enforcement of convict leasing across state lines, which bound the South together for more than half a century in reliance on an institution of almost-unbelievable brutality.
In addition, Mancini's book describes the prisoners' daily existence, profiles the individuals - specifically, Edward H. Cunningham and Littleberry A. Ellis - who leased convicts, and also reveals both the inhumanity of the leasing laws and also the centrality of race relations in the establishment and perpetuation of convict leasing.
Mancini is Professor Emeritus of American Studies at Saint Louis University as well as department chair. He has worked as a Professor of History at Missouri State University and served as a Department head, and served as a Professor of American Studies at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. He also has served as a visiting professor at Rice University.
The recipient of several national teaching and scholarly awards, Mancini earned his Ph.D. from Emory University and an B.A. in English from Fordham University.
On February 19, 2018, the first of the remains of at least 95 victims of convict leasing in Sugar Land was uncovered by a backhoe operator helping to construct the James Reese Career and Technical Center, a Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) technical high school.
Since the discovery in 2018, a variety of efforts have begun to learn more about - and properly honor - the Sugar Land 95. These events include a news conference by S.O.J.E.S. and community leaders, a large Juneteenth Celebration by S.O.J.E.S. in 2021, and the recently announced plans to create an outdoor learning space and Sugar Land 95 cemetery enhancements by the FBISD (see story below).
Mancini's speech focused on one of the most exploitative labor systems in America’s history. His book describes the seemingly uneven enforcement of convict leasing across state lines, which bound the South together for more than half a century in reliance on an institution of almost-unbelievable brutality.
In addition, Mancini's book describes the prisoners' daily existence, profiles the individuals - specifically, Edward H. Cunningham and Littleberry A. Ellis - who leased convicts, and also reveals both the inhumanity of the leasing laws and also the centrality of race relations in the establishment and perpetuation of convict leasing.
Mancini is Professor Emeritus of American Studies at Saint Louis University as well as department chair. He has worked as a Professor of History at Missouri State University and served as a Department head, and served as a Professor of American Studies at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. He also has served as a visiting professor at Rice University.
The recipient of several national teaching and scholarly awards, Mancini earned his Ph.D. from Emory University and an B.A. in English from Fordham University.
JUNETEENTH PROCLAMATION FOR JUSTICE
FOR THE SUGAR LAND 95 A SUCCESS
More than 250 people attended S.O.J.E.S.'s inaugural community tribute to the Sugar Land 95 at FBISD's James Reese Career and Technical Center on Saturday, June 19, 2021. It was a spectacularly diverse and glorious public debut for S.O.J.E.S., which announced plans to build a museum and educational center on the sacred site of the Sugar Land 95. Learn more here.
