The correct answer is they could be forced into debt peonage to pay debts to the land owner.
The end of Reconstruction saw changes in the South that made it extremely similar to what life was like before the Civil War. This was especially true for African-American labor. Many African-American men would sign labor contracts agreeing to work for farmers on their farms/plantations. However, these labor contracts would tie the individual to that land. Many of these African-Americans were forced to stay on the land, as white farm owners claimed that they did not pay off their debt.