Slavery might have ended on paper after the Civil War, but many white landowners did everything they could to exploit newly freed slaves well into the 20th century. Thousands of black laborers across the South were forced to work against their will as late as the 1960s—a new form of enslavement that went on in the shadows of rural America.

Aged eight, Nice Leng’ete was destined to undergo female genital mutilation, leave school and be married off to an older man, according to Maasai tradition. She not only fought against FGM for herself but, through her bravery and persistence, helped overturn this centuries-old practice for thousands of Maasai girls across Kenya and Tanzania. This is her story. Video produced by Ellen Tsang and Andrea Kennedy. Footage by Ken Mungai.