Chain Gang Labor

Linked to Convict Lease System

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A Georgia chain gang builds a road in Oglethorpe County in 1941. After the prohibition of convict leasing in 1908, the state implemented the chain gang system as a source of inexpensive labor on major construction projects.

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

Chain Gang Labor

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Pearl Cleage

Pearl Cleage

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Frances Mayes

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Sue Monk Kidd

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