Were the Black Codes another form of slavery?    Based on Okten’s statem

 
 Were the Black Codes another form of slavery?   
Based on Okten’s statements, discuss how the sharecropping/crop lien system created a vicious cycle.  Was this system simply another version of slavery?  Why or why not.   
Consider the following statement:  “The persistence of racism in both the North and the South lay at the heart of Reconstruction’s failure.” Agree or disagree, and explain your position.
Links relevant to the questions
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reconstruction-white-southern-responses-black-emancipation/
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/civil-war-era/reconstruction/a/black-codes
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=37&page=transcript