- Created by
- Wallace, Herman, American, 1941 - 2013
- Subject of
- Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, American, founded 1835
- Date
- after 1972
- Medium
- plastic and paper (fiber product)
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 7 7/8 × 8 7/8 × 1 3/4 in. (20 × 22.5 × 4.5 cm)
- Caption
- Wallace was an avid chess player. The collection includes homemade and mass produced chess boards and pieces. He wrote that he saw the game as a powerful humanizing force which helped him and fellow inmates use their minds towards a positive and productive pursuit. Wallace used the game to strategically inspire camaraderie, eliminate violence, and establish a network of empowerment, entirely lacking in an environment purposefully inhumane and hopeless.
- Description
- A repurposed square manila envelope containing checker pieces used by Herman Wallace while incarcerated at Angola Prison. On one side of the envelope in large green ink is written “BLACK”. On the opposite side of the envelope in large green ink is written “White”. There are seven white and black chess pieces, respectively.
- Place used
- Angola, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- Herman Wallace Archival Collection
- Classification
- Toys and Games
- Type
- chessmen
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Maria Hinds
- Object number
- A2018.36.1.13.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




