Advocacy in the Present
Texas Slave Descendents Society (TSDS) pursues general recognition for the lessees’ suffering in the convict leasing system. TSDS seeks this recognition via historical markers in Sugar Land, Austin, and elsewhere, as well as memorials commemorating the convict lessees. Reginald Moore and TSDS also advocate a convict leasing memorial museum in Sugar Land. TSDS also pursues the historical preservation of Texas Prison Farm buildings.
As part of an effort for historical preservation, Moore and TSDS seek archeological studies of sites in Sugar Land, particularly with regard to cemeteries. Due to the high mortality rate in the convict leasing system, several unrecognized cemeteries or burial sites exist in Sugar Land. The increased gentrification in recent years disregards this potential history in favor of building, creating a context that often prices descendants of convict lessees out of the local real estate market.