Two stunning novels touch the heart of American history in a place that is still raw and aching. The stories of Jojo and Richie, and Dara and Lead Belly, will cling to your heart.
Current Day: Jojo is on his way to pick up dad from Mississippi State Penitentiary, the former site of Parcham Prison, a prison camp meant to extend slavery for black men for white profit.
1923: Dara is fleeing Midland, Texas, after being outed in her small town as a lesbian. She gets a job and finds friendship and a way out of her own prison of fear, while seeing first hand the Imperial Prison Farm, another prison camp extending slavery for black men.
A piercing look at the history that shapes us, the choices we are thrown up against, and the powerful connection of family to lead us through, Sing Unburied, Sing and Sugarland are two novels you will be thinking and talking about long after you put them reluctantly down.
Bones tell tales: Human remains have been found under a school district building site. The remains are related to the Imperial Prison Farm in Fort Bend County, Texas. Read more…
Take me home: Ward (MacArthur Genius Grant Winner) takes PBS newshour on a tour of her hometown in Mississippi and talks about her influences and the power of seeing yourself in stories.