Lightless Mornings: A Fine Legacy represents a personal interrogation and historical account of my great-great -great grandfather, W.D. McCurdy’s use of forced labor in his coalmines and cotton plantations in the Black Belt region of Alabama during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through personal research including interviews with other descendents of McCurdy, as well as scholarly research about the practice of convict leasing in Alabama, I explore dynamics of inheritance, economics, power, privilege, race, class, geography, history, family, and identity.
","abstract_html":"<p><em>Lightless Mornings: A Fine Legacy</em> represents a personal interrogation and historical account of my great-great -great grandfather, W.D. McCurdy’s use of forced labor in his coalmines and cotton plantations in the Black Belt region of Alabama during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through personal research including interviews with other descendents of McCurdy, as well as scholarly research about the practice of convict leasing in Alabama, I explore dynamics of inheritance, economics, power, privilege, race, class, geography, history, family, and identity.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Zeanah, Emily"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.F.A.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Film, Theatre, and Communication Arts","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Bates, Randolph","Hazlett, John","Steeby, Elizabeth"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-05-20T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-05-20T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:28:04Z","subjects":["Convict leasing, W.D. McCurdy, Genealogy, Prison system, Alabama history, Biography,","Other Arts and Humanities"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/445","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Bates, Randolph","Hazlett, John","Steeby, Elizabeth"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Zeanah, Emily"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-05-20T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Film, Theatre, and Communication Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.F.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Convict leasing, W.D. McCurdy, Genealogy, Prison system, Alabama history, Biography,","Other Arts and Humanities"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/445"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Lightless Mornings: A Fine Legacy represents a personal interrogation and historical account of my great-great -great grandfather, W.D. McCurdy’s use of forced labor in his coalmines and cotton plantations in the Black Belt region of Alabama during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through personal research including interviews with other descendents of McCurdy, as well as scholarly research about the practice of convict leasing in Alabama, I explore dynamics of inheritance, economics, power, privilege, race, class, geography, history, family, and identity.
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