Debt Peonage Entraps Black Agricultural Workers Alongside Convict Leasing

Beyond convict leasing, debt peonage enslaves Black agricultural workers through company stores, crop lien systems, and contract enforcement. Workers who try to leave before their debts are paid are arrested under enticement laws and returned — or converted into convict laborers. In some Alabama and Mississippi counties, virtually no Black farm family is free of enforced debt to a white landowner. Federal prosecution of peonage is rare and typically unsuccessful.