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The Historic New Orleans Collection
HNOC in the News

Forbes: HNOC Explores Human Tragedy of Mass Incarceration in Louisiana

September 23, 2024

A woman in a red dress looks at an exhibit wall displaying information and images about the rise of mass incarceration in the United States. A graph on the wall shows historical incarceration rates and trends.
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Exhibitions

Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration

July 19, 2024 to February 16, 2025

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Books

Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration

CAPTIVE STATE cover

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First Draft

Inside Angola’s Prison Newspaper, the ‘Angolite’

First Draft

A Long Arc of Injustice

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A screenshot from a vintage color film shows part of a ship with the name "VERNON C. BAIN" written on the side.

“Vernon C. Bain” Christening Ceremony Video

When New York City’s war on drugs sent incarceration rates soaring, officials commissioned a floating jail built and christened downriver from New Orleans.

The cover of the newspaper "Hospital Banner" from August of 1955.

Hospital Banner Newsletters

An unusual periodical, written and produced by residents of the state mental hospital in the mid-20th century

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A screenshot from the video “Does Mass Incarceration Make Us Safer?” shows a woman adding a post-it note to a wall of post-it notes that answer the prompt "If you could change Louisiana's incarceration system, where would you begin?"
Behind the Scenes

New Video Goes Behind the Scenes of “Captive State” Exhibition and Companion Book 

October 9, 2025
Narrated by Anthony J. Hingle Jr., the piece explores how the project draws irrefutable historical links between slavery and mass incarceration.
Innocence & Justice Louisiana presented HNOC with the John Thompson Award for Courage and Justice at the “Oh, Freedom!” Gala on September 13, 2025.
Press Release

HNOC Awarded John Thompson Award for Courage & Justice

September 22, 2025
Presented by Innocence & Justice Louisiana, the honor was received for HNOC’s “Captive State” exhibition and companion book that confront the historical roots of mass incarceration in Louisiana.
A historical museum exhibit features a large black-and-white photograph of an old prison building. In front, there is a wooden stock used for restraining prisoners, with openings for neck and wrists. The quote on the photo describes the harsh prison conditions.
HNOC in the News

Louisiana Weekly: HNOC Receives LEH Award for Louisiana Mass Incarceration Exhibit

January 29, 2026
Officials praised “Captive State” for addressing a difficult and often polarizing subject with scholarly depth while remaining accessible to a broad audience.
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