The blood, sweat, and death of harvesting sugar cane contributed to the historical wealth and well being for Europeans in America and their entities. We are here to give you the Untold Story of How Sugar, Slavery, Convict Leasing and Mass Incarceration started right here in Sugar Land. It’s a story that’s not so sweet. This virtual SL95 Museum will give you information to shed light on what really happened here in Sugarland, Texas. Our goal is to honor the spirit of the 95 souls who lost their lives growing the sugar industry in Sugarland. We will do our best to keep their memory alive by telling the story of what happened to them and so many others after the Civil War. We have to keep our finger on the pulse. We have to continue to be their voice.

Sugar and Slavery: A Brutal Legacy

Sugar: the Driving Force behind Slavery

Black codes were a set of laws (including "Pig" and vagrancy Laws) that began in 1865, after the Civil War and emancipation. IF YOU WERE BLACK, FORGET ABOUT: Voting, Holding office, Owning certain kinds of land, Testifying against whites, Making contracts or wills, Receiving public funding for Schools.

Cutting Down Sugar Cane It’s 90F/32C at 7am. It will get hotter. This man will work for 5 to 6 hours in these conditions at this pace. He will cut ~1 ton of cane per hour. He will burn as many calories as someone running a 1/2 ultra marathon. As many calories as a Navy Seal on a 3 day deployment. He will do this 6-7 days a week. He is at risk for kidney disease and heat stroke.

An important note:

Historians note sugar plantations killed more African Americans than any other kind of agriculture.

Educate. Honor. Heal. The Society of Justice & Equality for the People of Sugar Land (S.O.J.E.S.) is an independent, non-profit community organization dedicated to historic preservation and educating the community about the contributions of African Americans in the creation and progression of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County, Texas. This includes commemorating and memorializing the Sugar Land 95. sojesjustice.org