In NOLA.com Guest Column, HNOC Historian Discusses “Captive State” As Public History Project
Curator Eric Seiferth explains how HNOC’s 2025 exhibition and companion book serve as an important public telling of privately known truths.
Eric Seiferth, HNOC curator and historian
Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration
softcover • 9" × 11" • 106 pp.
57 color images
ISBN 9780917860942
$19.95
“Captive State” Book: Upcoming Local and Regional Literary Events
Related Exhibitions
Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration
Learn how the institutions of slavery and mass incarceration are historically linked, and how these connections have made Louisiana the world leader in incarceration today.
Related Stories
Inside Angola’s Prison Newspaper, the ‘Angolite’
John Corley, associate editor at Louisiana State Penitentiary, discusses the history and operations of the award-winning periodical.
Poets Respond to “Captive State” in Verse
Nine Louisiana poets visited the landmark exhibition on the history of incarceration and created original work based on their experiences.
Related Collection Highlights
“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.
Death Notice for John Ward Gurley
One hot-headed young upstart in early 19th-century Louisiana found his way onto the dueling field, where the odds were not in his favor.
The Mysterious Axman’s Jazz
At the turn of the 20th century, a music-loving serial killer proclaimed that only jazz lovers would be safe from his reign of terror.
Related News
Reflecting on “Captive State”: How to Take Action
New Exhibition Explores Historical Links Between Slavery and Mass Incarceration
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