![[PRE-ORDER] Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration](http://shophnoc.com/cdn/shop/files/Captive_State_front_cover.jpg?v=1755206378)
Available October 1, 2025: Now Accepting Pre-orders
The first 30 pre-ordered copies will be signed by authors Eric Seiferth, Kevin T. Harrell, Katherine Jolliff Dunn, and Nick Weldon.
For decades, Louisiana has had the highest incarceration rate in the United States. If it were a country, it would have the second-highest incarceration rate in the world. Far from a modern phenomenon, this distinction is rooted in more than three centuries of history—roots that extend out from the principal city of New Orleans, once the epicenter of the American slave trade. In its examination of the state’s long march toward confining more of its citizens than almost anywhere on earth, Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration arrives at an irrefutable truth: that the institutions of slavery and mass incarceration are historically linked.
Adapted from the groundbreaking exhibition of the same name, Captive State traces the evolution of laws and customs that created this carceral system and that, by design, have disproportionately harmed Black Louisianians. Captive State accentuates this narrative with profiles of people impacted by these systems, spotlights on key historical objects, and insightful data visualizations. As the human and financial costs continue to mount, this book details the choices that led us here—and asks whether Louisiana is fated to remain captive to its history.
Advance praise for Captive State:
“Captive State tells the story of Louisiana’s history of incarceration and its roots in slavery with honesty and power. . . . It’s a reminder of how art and history can help us see the truth and imagine something better.”
—John Legend
“Captive State 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’t know of a more powerful depiction or a stronger indictment.”
—Calvin Duncan, author of The Jailhouse Lawyer
Available October 1, 2025
softcover • 9" × 11" • 106 pp.
57 color images
ISBN 9780917860942
Pre-order shipping and pickup information:
Shipping: Pre-orders will begin to be shipped out in the first week of October.
Pickup: Pre-orders may be picked up at the Shop beginning October 1, 2025. Pre-orders must be picked up within 30 days, or refunds will be automatically processed.
Available October 1, 2025: Now Accepting Pre-orders
The first 30 pre-ordered copies will be signed by authors Eric Seiferth, Kevin T. Harrell, Katherine Jolliff Dunn, and Nick Weldon.
For decades, Louisiana has had the highest incarceration rate in the United States. If it were a country, it would have the second-highest incarceration rate in the world. Far from a modern phenomenon, this distinction is rooted in more than three centuries of history—roots that extend out from the principal city of New Orleans, once the epicenter of the American slave trade. In its examination of the state’s long march toward confining more of its citizens than almost anywhere on earth, Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration arrives at an irrefutable truth: that the institutions of slavery and mass incarceration are historically linked.
Adapted from the groundbreaking exhibition of the same name, Captive State traces the evolution of laws and customs that created this carceral system and that, by design, have disproportionately harmed Black Louisianians. Captive State accentuates this narrative with profiles of people impacted by these systems, spotlights on key historical objects, and insightful data visualizations. As the human and financial costs continue to mount, this book details the choices that led us here—and asks whether Louisiana is fated to remain captive to its history.
Advance praise for Captive State:
“Captive State tells the story of Louisiana’s history of incarceration and its roots in slavery with honesty and power. . . . It’s a reminder of how art and history can help us see the truth and imagine something better.”
—John Legend
“Captive State 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’t know of a more powerful depiction or a stronger indictment.”
—Calvin Duncan, author of The Jailhouse Lawyer
Available October 1, 2025
softcover • 9" × 11" • 106 pp.
57 color images
ISBN 9780917860942
Pre-order shipping and pickup information:
Shipping: Pre-orders will begin to be shipped out in the first week of October.
Pickup: Pre-orders may be picked up at the Shop beginning October 1, 2025. Pre-orders must be picked up within 30 days, or refunds will be automatically processed.