Long after slavery was abolished, thousands of people — mostly Black men — were arrested, often on petty or fabricated charges, and leased to private companies under Georgia’s convict leasing system.
Due to its deplorable conditions, some never made it back out alive.
On June 19, 2025, award-winning Atlanta- based public historian and storyteller Kimberly Renee will debut Bound by Brick, a powerful two-part virtual exhibit that explores this brutal post-Emancipation labor system and the people and companies that profited from it.
A digital memorial and act of remembrance, Bound by Brick uses multiple mediums, including interactive 3D art, to bring to light the system of racialized incarceration and the human cost behind one of Georgia’s most infamous industrial operations between the 1880s and early 1900s: the notorious Chattahoochee Brick Company.
The Chattahoochee Brick Company, founded in the late 1800s, became a hub of state-sanctioned violence. Men were starved, beaten, denied medical care, and even whipped to death — all under the oversight of figures who held powerful political roles in Georgia. While most of those subjected to this cruelty were Black men, they were not alone. Others were also swept into the convict leasing system and forced into these deplorable conditions.
“For many people, these camps, including Chattahoochee Brick, were death sentences,” said Renee. “Their architects ran Georgia’s cities, while these blood-stained bricks built them.”
Bound By Brick traces these injustices, shining a light on the corporations and public officials who profited from this form of modern slavery, including remnants that remain today.
The xxperience unfolds in two interactive parts: Part I is free to the public thanks to financial support from the National Center for Civil and Human Rights as a part of its Truth + Transformation Fellowship. It offers a historical overview of convict leasing at Chattahoochee Brick, those at its helm, and its longstanding impact.
Part II, available for free on Juneteenth (June 19), includes an interactive, first-of-its-kind searchable database of individuals forced to work at Chattahoochee Brick and surrounding labor camps. It also highlights still-standing organizations that benefited from the practice. After June 19, access to Part II will be ticketed.
Locally, within the database in part two, 11 individuals are named from Baldwin County, six are from Putnam County, and five are from Greene County. The database includes their names, alleged crime, years sentenced, and notes on the outcome of their involvement with the Chattahoochee Brick Company.
While many now recognize Juneteenth as a celebration of freedom, Bound by Brick challenges visitors to confront how that freedom was continuously delayed — and in many cases, redefined to maintain the pre-Emancipation status quo.
To view the exhibit, visit kimberlyrenee.com and click the experiences tab.
— Contributed