Atlanta, GA – Dr. Paulette Richards is a puppet artist and independent researcher working to engage the Atlanta community in the history of convict leasing through creative performance. Her project is a video installation for permanent display at the Hapeville Depot Museum. In addition to interpretive text panels linking the Hapeville Worry Rock to the history of forced labor in Atlanta area quarries, the exhibit includes a five-minute puppet film entitled “Men and Mules,” emphasizing how African Americans were treated as livestock, both during slavery and within the context of convict labor post-Reconstruction. Richards’ puppetry provides a unique “double vision” into the lives and disquieting realities of those exploited. Her website can be found here, and her Instagram can be found here.