SUGAR LAND, Texas – As part of Black History Month, we are taking a look at part of history that many of us were not taught in school.
Some refer to it as the unsweet history that led to the creation of what is now Sugar Land.
“There is some ugly history behind how Sugar Land came about,” said Marilyn Moore, President of the Friends of the Sugarland 95.
That ugly history: How so many companies profited from forced labor in the state’s brutal convict leasing program.
“People were treated so badly to the point of working people to death,” said Moore.
“It described this area as the hellhole of the Brazos,” said Bruce Lemmie, First Vice President of the Friends of the Sugarland 95.
After slaves were freed in the 1860’s, the state needed money, and businesses needed workers.
The state of Texas established the “Black Codes.”
“Those black codes were minor things, loitering, not having a job. It was just a reason to incarcerate people,” said Moore.
Companies like Imperial Sugar Factory would pay the state to lease out workers from prisons. The life expectancy inside these camps was less than two years, much worse than slavery.
“They died from diseases, they died from gunshot wounds, and malnutrition. They were underfed and overworked,” said Lemmie.
“There was even less value on those in the convict leasing system than slavery,” added Moore.
Many would not survive the intense labor. When researchers analyzed the remains of the 95 people found in 2018, tests showed the stress on their bones and bodies.
And no laws were in place to protect children. The youngest prisoner found in an unmarked grave was just thirteen years old.
“This is part of the Fort Bend County and Sugar Land history that needs to be told,” said Moore.
The new $4.5 million memorial includes an outdoor learning center and museum with markers along the cemetery.
An area to reflect, to remember, and to make sure history never repeats itself.
“It’s a source of inspiration. What happened here was a tragedy, but what happens next, I think, is pretty positive. And we have to build the positivity off the tragedy we find here,” says Lemmie.
The Friends of the Sugar Land 95 said they are still working to raise all of the funding needed.
Fort Bend County just approved $1.5 million, but it’s going to cost $4.5 million to build this landmark.
The Fort Bend Independent School District is now working to have that money transferred over.
If you would like to donate, visit www.sugarland95.org.