Watch the documentary Slavery By Another Name,, which is available on YouTube and respond to the following writing prompt.
What is convict leasing and in what ways did it resemble slavery? In what ways was convict leasing different from slavery? What were the Pig Laws and Vagrancy Laws and how did they contribute to blacks being criminalized and placed in the convict leasing program? Discuss two specific examples from the documentary to back your response.
It was nearly 80 years after the Thirteenth Amendment was passed that the federal government took action to enforce it (this happened under Franklin Delano Roosevelts presidency with his Circular 3591). Why do you think it took so long for the federal government to take more aggressive action?
At the end of the documentary, Tonya Groomes paraphrases a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. What does this quote mean to you, and do you feel this quote is still applicable today?
Link for documentary
