Reginald Moore Houston area community activism collection

Reginald Moore, of Sugar Land, Texas, is an historian and has a certification in Community Economic Development from the College of Biblical Studies. He is also a community activist, and has a particular interest in prison reform and prison re-entry into society. He served as a correctional officer in the Texas Department of Corrections, 1985-1988. Mr. Moore worked in the Beauford H. Jester I and III Units, a prison farm located in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas. Jester I Farm was the first built by the state at this site, and was known as the Old Harlem Farm. Although convict leasing as a practice is believed to have begun informally in 1872, the State of Texas sanctioned the contract to lease the penal system to the private firm of Ed H. Cunningham and L.A. Ellis (Cunningham and Ellis) in 1878. In 1883, the land and system reverted from private to state control. While working at this site, Mr. Moore became interested in the history of the Flanagan House (former warden's house) and then in the Central Unit of the prison. Over time, this interest grew and became a major research area for Mr. Moore, who went on to found and chair the Texas Slave Descendants' Society(TSDS) in the early 2000’s. Through the TSDS and on his own, Mr. Moore, has worked to gain recognition for the past abuses associated with Sugar Land’s convict leasing system. Mr. Moore serves as a member of the RIP Guardian program for the Imperial Prison Cemetery.

Additionally, Mr. Moore has worked to bring attention to other topics such as modern day prison reform, mis-use of public funds, and preservation of Houston's historically African American wards and churches.

Resources of interest: CNN film "American Jail" https://www.cnn.com/shows/american-jail-film, access July 3, 2018