How did black codes and the system of sharecropping affect freed african americans?

Sharecropping referred to black families renting small land plots in return for a portion of their crop, to be given to the landowner yearly. Black codes restricted freed blacks' activity, availing them as a labor force after abolition of slavery. This affected freed african americans, required to sign labor contracts yearly. On refusal, they risked being arrested, fined or forced into unpaid labor.