Convict leasing in the practice by which state penitentiaries utilize imprisoned individuals as “leased” labor to private companies or for state public works projects. After the Civil War and gaining traction during Reconstruction, the system of convict leasing replaced slavery in some areas of the state. It is more harsh than sharecropping because the individuals do not have a choice in participating in the labor. It is similar to slavery in that many individuals die in the process of completing their sentencing as a leased laborer.

Convict Leasing in Fort Bend County, Texas, and particularly in Sugar Land Texas, is connected to a long and dark history of enslavement and sugar production. Students can trace this history using primary sources through land deeds, maps, letters, photographs, and bills of sale. Similarly, an abundance of primary sources exist that speak to the history of those leased to the Imperial Sugar Company from the Texas State Penitentiary. The Woodson Research Center Special Collections & Archives in Fondren Library at Rice University houses the Convict Leasing in Texas Collection.

The Portal to Texas History has several maps, newspaper articles and editorials chronicling the history of and ongoing debate about convict leasing in Texas.

The CLLPJuneteenthReport, an abridged History of Convict Leasing in Sugar Land in Texas Monthly magazine and the PBS documentary Slavery by Another Name offers additional insight.

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This way to Harvesting Sugar Cane, Race Class and the Sugar Economy.