Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice [Paperback]

David M. Oshinsky (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 22, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0684830957 | ISBN-13: 978-0684830957

The brutal conditions and inhuman treatment of African-Americans in Southern prisons has been immortalized in blues songs and in such movies as Cool Hand Luke. Now, drawing on police and prison records and oral histories, David M. Oshinsky presents an account of Mississippi's notorious Parchman Farm; what it tells us about our past is well worth remembering in a nation deeply divided by race. Two 8-page photo inserts.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

Oshinsky's beautifully constructed narrative brings to vivid life one of the most shameful chapters in American history.

From Booklist

Historian Oshinsky uses Mississippi as a paradigm for the shameful history of black injustice in the South between the post^-Civil War demise of slavery and the post^-World War II rise of the civil rights movement. Since its admission to the Union, Mississippi had been a violent place, as the author relates; and brutality to blacks was simply a part of Mississippian culture. After the abolition of slavery, in most white Mississippians' minds, something else had to be arrived at for "keeping the ex-slaves in line." Thus laws were passed designed to maintain white supremacy, particularly when it came to controlling black labor. After a discussion of the deplorable practice of convict leasing, a system whereby people could "hire" prisoners for physical labor outside the walls of prison, the author turns his attention to Parchman Farm, the state penitentiary, "a sprawling 20,000-acre plantation in the rich cotton land of the Yazoo Delta." What transpired behind the fences of Parchman Farm since its founding in the early part of this century is a horror story told here through a rigorous study that should be accorded an important place on the U.S. history shelf. Brad Hooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (April 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684830957
• ISBN-13: 978-0684830957
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > History > Americas > United States > African Americans > Discrimination & Racism
  • #74 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Sociology > Race Relations
  • #96 in Books > History > Africa

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing yet fascinating southern history January 18, 1999

By Rick Hunter

Format:Paperback

David M. Oshinsky's "Worse than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice, tells yet another piece of recent, uncomfortable American history which must not be forgotten. Mississippi, like other southern states after the Civil War, did not deal well with freed blacks, and developed the system of "Jim Crow justice" which, in many respects, replicated slavery. Initially, the state leased prisoners -- usually blacks -- to private individuals, usually to pick cotton and do other heavy labor. As Oshinsky presciently concludes, this resulted in a more onerous existence for the black contract workers than when they were slaves. Owners, at least, had a vested interest in keeping their slaves fed and clothed, as they represented a substantial investment of capital. Persons leasing convict labor had no such capital investment, and, as a result, had no incentive (other than humanitarian, which, Oshhinsky notes, usually begged the question in white southern minds as to whether blacks were "human" at all) to keep workers from starving or working to death. The system of convict labor, considered "enlightened" by many at the time - and a great source of profit for the State - was an exercise in barbarism.

Parchman Farm, a huge cotton plantation in the Mississippi delta, represented an improvement, in that Mississippi itself owned and operated the farm and tended to feed and house the convicts. The system, however, was far from just, in that prisoners were armed and chosen to guard their fellow inmates, profit was a main goal and justification of the system, and no effort was made to rehabilitate the inmates. Only in the last quarter of this century was Parchman reformed through a series of federal court orders defining the situation as "cruel and unusual punishment."

Oshinsky writes extremely well, and both his research and insight are impressive. If one wants an example of how Reconstruction did not work, and the lives of rural southern blacks up through the civil rights victories of the last few decades, I recommend this book highly.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all..... February 1, 2005

By Cullen J

Format:Paperback

The title says it all: "Worse than Slavery": Parchman Farm and the ordeal of Jim Crow justice. The author supports this bold statement well by documenting the rise and fall of the Southern penal farm, with its brutality, corruption and racism. In order to put Parchman farm in perspective, Oshinsky details the atmosphere of reconstruction in Mississippi, and how the resentment and bias against African-Americans led to racial violence, and eventually a system of forced incarceration. While unlike slavery insofar as it applies to a smaller percentage of blacks, Oshinky demonstrates that the inmates on Parchman farm were worse off than slaves. Furthermore, he also proves that the convict leasing and convict farm programs reinforced the social hierarchy of the white race being superior to the black.

The book's subtitle indicates that it's primary focus will be Parchman Farm, a Mississippi correctional facility that housed mostly black convicts. However, the first 100 pages don't even deal with Parchman; instead, the author discusses the convict leasing system that preceded the penal farm. Convict leasing reflected the consensus belief that African-Americans were fit for hard labor and little else. Leasing involved a corrupt and biased legal system, which placed unfair "court costs" on black males that would only be paid off by hard labor as a convict. According to Oshinky's research, the laborers would have to work long days in harsh conditions with little or no shelter. While a lot of the inmates would die from the extreme working situations, the people of Mississippi cared very little; the leasing system gave former plantation owners access to cheap labor and reinforced racial stereotypes. The convict leasing system was also not limited to Mississippi- Oshinky documents many similar systems in other states. Eventually, outrage over the death of one of the few white laborers in the system caused the states to shut down convict leasing.

However, instead of building a prison, as was standard practice, Mississippi built a farm on some of the most fertile ground in America. It was here, at Parchman farm, where large numbers of black inmates would come to spend their days picking cotton. Oshinky's research is stunning, as he reveals some of the innermost details of Parchman life. It was a brutal, kill or be killed lifestyle where the most rabid, and often mentally challenged, guards were given shotguns and a free reign over other prisoners. Not only was this farm a brutal and sometimes deadly prison, it was also a huge money maker. According to the author, the area around Parchman was some of the most profitable and fertile real estate in the U.S.A. at that time. The Civil Rights movement and a federal judge eventually ended Parchman Farm. The scars of cruelty would remain.

Oshinky describes the tragedy and the events leading to it's existence in the only way possible- objectively. Instead of editorializing, he quotes people from the days in question and lets their experiences and biases speak for themselves. His research is exhaustive and everything is well supported and well documented. His weaving of statistics into the narrative is the most vital quality of this book, because it adds a sense of overwhelming factual support for his story. This is an amazing book, full of vivid details and stunning facts. This is a must read for anyone interested in the racial history of the South.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars In hindsight, almost make you ashamed....... December 3, 2003

By lordhoot

Format:Paperback

Rather an amazing book on one of the darker sides of American society in the south, it almost unbelievable that until just a short generation ago, such a way of life was generally accepted by the white people of the south. Concept of Jim Crow justice seem so un-American that its small wonder why black people today don't wholly trust the white people. The book deals around the Parchman Farm and the Mississippi prison system but I supposed something like this took place all over the southern states during the Jim Crow era. Its a shock to the system but probably a must read material for any one who is interested in the social history of the southern people.