{"id":162812,"date":"2025-08-21T03:46:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T03:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/162812\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T03:46:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T03:46:12","slug":"new-book-from-historic-new-orleans-collection-on-incarceration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/162812\/","title":{"rendered":"New Book from Historic New Orleans Collection on Incarceration"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW ORLEANS (press release) \u2013 The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) is set to release\u00a0\u201cCaptive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0a new book that builds on the success of its groundbreaking exhibition of the same name. Authored by exhibition curators Eric Seiferth, Katherine Jolliff Dunn, and Kevin T. Harrell and edited by Nick Weldon, the publication explores the deep historical roots of Louisiana\u2019s status as a world leader in incarceration.<\/p>\n

For decades, Louisiana has had the highest incarceration rate in the United States, and only ranks behind El Salvador globally. \u201cCaptive State\u201d reveals that this is not a modern phenomenon but is rooted in more than three centuries of history, with its origins extending from New Orleans, once the epicenter of the American slave trade. Through its examination of the state\u2019s long march toward this ignominious distinction, the book arrives at an irrefutable truth: the institutions of slavery and mass incarceration are historically linked.<\/p>\n

The book connects Louisiana\u2019s past and present through profiles of people impacted by the carceral system, examinations of key historical objects and insightful data visualizations. It challenges conventional narratives by focusing on the lived experiences of incarcerated people and asks a crucial question: is Louisiana destined to remain captive to its own history?<\/p>\n

In the foreword by Andrea Armstrong, Dr. Norman C. Francis Distinguished Professor of Law at Loyola University New Orleans and a leading national expert on prison and jail conditions, she writes, \u201cWe cripple ourselves . . . by refusing to recognize the humanity of people behind bars. \u2018Captive State\u2019 makes these costs visible, defying conventional accounts that ignore the lived experiences of incarcerated people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adapted from the critically acclaimed exhibition that ran from July 2024 to Feb. 2025, the book was made possible by the generous support of the Spark Justice Fund at Borealis Philanthropy. The exhibition drew high-profile visitors like John Legend and Sister Helen Prejean and was the first full historical account of incarceration in Louisiana.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Captive State\u2019 tells the story of Louisiana\u2019s history of incarceration and its roots in slavery with honesty and power. . . . It\u2019s a reminder of how art and history can help us see the truth and imagine something better.\u201d \u2014John Legend\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Historic<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Captive State\u2019 lays bare what so many of us lived through but few outside ever saw. It shows how Louisiana built a system on the back of slavery and locked away generations. I don\u2019t know of a more powerful depiction or a stronger indictment.\u201d \u2013\u00a0 Calvin Duncan, author of \u201cThe Jailhouse Lawyer\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe success of the \u2018Captive State\u2019 exhibition was an extraordinary validation of our institution\u2019s vision,\u201d said Daniel Hammer, HNOC President and CEO. \u201cThis publication extends the exhibition\u2019s reach and ensures its powerful message is accessible to advocates and everyone on a quest to build a more equitable and enlightened future.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more than 30 years, HNOC has been publishing award-winning books about New Orleans and the Gulf South as part of its mission to promote the study and preservation of the region\u2019s history and culture. The organization\u2019s publications span a wide range of nonfiction titles, from high-quality research and scholarship to richly illustrated art volumes and exhibition catalogs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration\u201d is now available for preorder at\u00a0www.shophnoc.com<\/a>\u00a0and will be on sale to the public Oct. 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW ORLEANS (press release) \u2013 The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) is set to release\u00a0\u201cCaptive State: Louisiana and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":162813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1022,171,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-162812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115064706766034560","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}