In June, I spent a month at Angola prison in Louisiana shooting behind-the-scenes for a new Danny Glover & Derek Luke film titled “Long Day Journey.” The title was oddly appropriate for my personal experience inside the prison as well. Louisiana, possibly the most prehistoric state when it comes to prosecuting its own citizens, hands out life sentences like vegas promoters hand out fliers. Among all of the horrible and amazing moments I witnessed, none was more bone-chilling than my first morning drive through the crop fields. One morning at 9am we took a small truck a few miles into the 18k acre prison-city, and drove right into fields full of black folks bent over picking cotton and crops while armed men on horses kept them controlled and working.

I then saw the wood and metal workshops, the appliances, The tables, the clothing, and the other inner workings of a countries answer to a need for cheap labor.