Antoinette Harrell: The Slavery Detective of the South Says Slavery Continued Across the South

Slavery never ended on paper or otherwise after the American Civil War. The 13th Amendment which was ratified in 1865 and became part of the US Consitution, did not end slavery by legalized it as a punishment for those “duly convicted” yet most people believe otherwise and instead of recognizing the slavery implemented through the criminal justice system.

However, many white landowners and farmers used violence and intimidation to keep emancipated victims of slavery well into the 20th century. Thousands of black men, women, and children across the South were forced to work against their will as late as the 1960s in the shadows of rural America. This enslavement was in violation of the 13th Amendment as these were not persons convicted of any crimes and sentenced to labor, leased out to farmers, the railroad companies or mines by the prison.

VICE’s Akil Gibbons traveled to Louisiana to meet genealogist Antoinette Harrell, the “slavery detective of the South,” who tracks down cases of modern-day slavery and abusive labor practices. They talk to a man whose family was held on a plantation against their will into the 1950s, and Antoinette explains how she uses decades-old records to uncover how slavery was perpetuated long after the Civil War ended.

Watch more VICE docs highlighting Black History Month: https://vice.video/2F9Yb06

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7 Replies to “Antoinette Harrell: The Slavery Detective of the South Says Slavery Continued Across the South”

  1. Hello, I would love help with my ancestry and some answers . My family is from Columbia Mississippi. As the older folks have died off it seems like the family that is alive will not talk about the past. Maybe this is an avenue that could help me find my people.

  2. Hello, I have long to find someone like you. My family is from Mississippi and I linked to Fannie Lou Hamer. She was married to my grandmothers uncle; My great grandmother was the child of a white man by the name of Ben Neloms-I’m apart of the Hamer Family. I sure there is some history that should be unfolded.

  3. My dream is to work with you.

    Please email me. I would like to give you a call and explain why I am the perfect candidate to work for you. To me, nothing else will be as fulfilling as learning about my origins and helping other’s learn as well.

  4. I’m from a family of slavery’s and my grandma said she didnt know anything. She said her family was born here. They never stated they was from no other place but here. I really want to know my ancestors.

  5. “Vice” does not have your best interests at heart or the best interests of anyone else. I suppose Antoinette Harrel digs into this stuff for her own reasons. But, with Vice and other leftist publications you are not dealing with what you think you are. They are not your friends and not actually concerned about you. Behind all the civil rights talk and reparations talk and “Black Lives Matter” is something very ugly. These people are communists they have killed a hundred million people and are still at it.
    If you want to know how people lie Vice think and who they really are just watch this old video. This is how communists think and what they do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3qkf3bajd4&t=173s

    1. The content speaks for itself and I doubt very much our audience is buying into your BS propaganda. Now if you talked about how one of the founders who is no longer with Vice is a flaming racist white terrorist, I might lend my ear but Nah, we have had enough of the McCarthy era propaganda.

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