Summary Of Oshinsky's Worse Than Slavery

In his book Worse Than Slavery, Oshinsky graphically documents the story of the “farm with slaves” that turned an enormous profit to the state. Throughout the book one is continually confronted with the systematized degradation and humiliation of blacks. Before reading this book I thought I knew the extent of America’s racist past but Oshinsky proved me wrong. There are many dark truths and shameful skeletons I have not encountered before. Parchman Farm with its use of race-baiting techniques and capitalizing on racist fears of black lawlessness as a means to justify political control, violence, and murder is absolutely horrifying. At the heart of Oshinsky’s work, one can see the continual effort of whites to restore their supremacy at all

costs following the reconstruction era that was centralized in Mississippi.

This took form in many ways but three stand out in particular; the state authorized race baiting, the continual demonization and degradation of black lives, and the rise of violence and murder during times of racial progress. In the following I will address each topic and show Oshinsky’s documentations on these themes throughout his work.
Race baiting was a racial caste and custom that permeated the legal system. Whereby Mississippi law had informal categories for convicting people depending on the color of skin such that there was a statute law, plantation law, lynch law, and Negro law. Oshinsky documents a prominent Delta attorney, S.F. Davis who describes this system and how certain laws are to be enforced for whites while others are enforced for blacks. Oshinsky writes that although Mississippi did not discriminate by race the “arrest, prosecute, and sentence depended in large part on a person’s skin color, as did the workings of the trail itself” (pg 124). This racial system of conviction allowed whites to exploit blacks and to legally disregard

their basic human rights. For an example the Pig Law, which stated that a person who steals a farm animal that is worth more than ten dollars could be punishable by up to five years in prison. Another such law was the Leasing Act that allowed convicts to be leased out if their sentence were less than ten years. This Law in particular disproportionately impacted blacks in negative ways as a means to maintain White privilege, and subject blacks to racist systems of oppression. This racial leasing replaced the old racial bondage whereby blacks were once again degraded and used for economic gain. Some of these economic gains included the use of convicts for farming cotton, extracting turpentine gum, and building railroads. As a way to keep convicts from escaping the often-inhumane treatment and exploitation, workers were subjected to horrible treatment of violence and scare tactics. The trend of legal and institutional practices that disproportionately impacted blacks in a negative manner was one way to demonize black lives. The following will go into greater detail of how this demonization took place throughout Parchman Farm and Mississippi as a whole.
After the end of the Civil War, many of the newly freed slaves did not have work, a home, or adequate resources to acquire food. These circumstances caused many cases of theft in the south. Additionally, Oshinksy notes that many of the slaves were encouraged to steal from neighboring plantations. This combined with the reality that many white southerners did not accept blacks as citizens created an extremely tense situation. Whatever the reasoning the practices of theft became an increasing risky business due to the discriminatory legal practices that were rampant through the South. I many instances, blacks were demonized as a way to keep the balance of white supremacy. Speaking on this Oshinksy includes a quote from a white slave owner who blamed theft on “grounds of congenital black character’ that is, the Negro was a “born thief” (pg 32). Moreover, this issue of labeling blacks with particular negative connotations was not limited to theft, but was also present in the how blacks (particularly black males) where characterized as sexual deviants. This hyper sexualization of the black community was reinforced by the tendency to accuse black men of raping white women (pg 106).
The demonization of blacks was not limited to just the physical treatment but also reinforced by the living and working conditions that emphases a sense of worthiness. Oshsinksy documenting the working conditions of many blacks in the Delta where workers damned rivers, drained swamps, and cut trees quotes an “old-timer.” In this quote he talks about how workers were treated, “why, they just dump the next dirt on him and leave him there-cover him up and forget him-I’ve seen that happen” (pg 113). It is in these types of conditions with the demand for production by what was viewed as less that human workforce that reinforced the demonization and degradation of black lives.
One of the main mechanisms to force the demonization upon black convicts staying at Parchman farm was the continued use of whipping. This could take place without any prompt or reasons. Oshinsky does note that whipping could come as a result from fighting, stealing, an officer feeling disrespected, failure to meet work quotas. These whippings all depending on the sergeant in charge and many times without supervision. Oshinsky quotes one man who said, “They beat hell out of you for any reasons or no reason,” “It’s the greatest pleasure of their live” (pg 150). This harsh treatment of blacks was a result of how blacks were seen by officers but also as a means to keep blacks in a state of continued fear and subordination.
When considering death and its role in race relations in the South, Oshinsky notes that it played as a substitutionary effect where executions had a dramatic rise during times of racial stress. Therefore Oshinsky concludes that it helped signal social control over the black community (pg 209). This idea is shown through legislative acts like the “hanging bill” that was proposed by H. Clay Collins. This bill granted each county sheriff the authority to appoint any Mississippi resident as an executioner as a way to handle the mass executions of black lives. Oshinsky writes, “that they (referring to executions) were outlets for community vengeance, community warnings, community rage. And they remained alive as physical reminders of subordination and racial caste” (pg 215). This correlation can be particularly seen in the 1954 Supreme Court’s ruling on Brown vs. Board of Education. Out of this decision came a wave of legal tightening to exclude blacks from community opportunities. One case that stands out in particular surrounds Clyde Kennerd who tried to enroll at Mississippi Southern College. Only later to be framed for theft and sentenced to serve at Parchman Farm. This shows that even though Kennerd was a model citizen who tried to exercise his right to an education, race often trumped law. Kennerd even taught many inmates how to read and write until he developed a cancerous growth from his colon. Due to his condition he was moved to Jackson Hospital, where the cancer was removed. It was only 11 days when Kennerd was sent back to Parchman Farm where he became severally ill. The mistreatment and abuse of Kennered by Parchman Farm gained mass attention from the NAACP and he was eventually released from Parchman in 1963 only to die on July 4, 1963. Kennerd’s story highlights the continued racial oppression and the use of the criminal justice system as a means to maintain racist norms in the south.
As we have previously seen, Oshinsky’s work thoroughly highlights a consistent theme that has plague America since its beginning, racism. He documents how states authorized race baiting as a way to keep a racial caste and racist customs post the chattel slavery. The former also showed the continual demonization and degradation of black lives through stigmatizing blacks as thieves and sexual deviants. We have also seen how in the midst of racial tension how public executions played as a substitutionary effect where black deaths signaled social control over the black community. While reading this book, I often felt horrified at the extreme racist tendencies that have become so embedded within our society and justice systems. Through his focus on Parchman Farm we see how this racism played out in the community with all its gruesome details. In short, Parchman Farm is an example of this racism par excellence in that it shows the extent to which racism permeates the American way of life.