1media/chaingang_thumb.jpg2020-08-12T16:01:01-07:00Corinna Moebiusecd5b8522563659bd08558a644c21cca3cb1b9ac363562Postcard of "chain gang": Prison convicts forced to work without pay on hard-labor jobs.plain2020-08-12T16:04:24-07:0025.760344444444,-80.2207333333332020081218511820200812185118Corinna Moebiusecd5b8522563659bd08558a644c21cca3cb1b9ac
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12020-02-10T05:57:59-08:00African Americans Who Built the Tamiami Trail (Calle Ocho)16Commemorating African American convict laborers who built the Tamiami Trail (US41), including "Calle Ocho," in Florida.plain2020-08-13T07:26:41-07:0025.765870, -80.219800 Who built Calle Ocho--one of the two main thoroughfares through Little Havana? A dominant narrative about Calle Ocho gives exclusive credit to Cuban emigres as the "makers" of Calle Ocho. Yet the most famous street in Little Havana is Calle Ocho, and Calle Ocho is a portion of the Tamiami Trail. Who built the Tamiami Trail?
Prisoners built the Tamiami Trail, and most were African American.
Florida is among the states that instituted a horrific practice of convict leasing, or leasing prisoners to work for private companies. Many of these prisoners lived short lives, as conditions in the chain gangs were extremely harsh and inhumane. Many were jailed and imprisoned based on false or exaggerated charges.
