The summer following the end of World War I in 1919 became known as the Red Summer, in which mobs of white men attacked and killed black men in dozens of cities across the United States. In Arkansas, landowners used the black man's ability to read or write to their advantage and ensured the black population remained mired in debt.
Robert Hill, a black farmer from Winchester, Arkansas, founded the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of American (PFHUA) to help farmers get fair pay for their crops and negotiate for better conditions.
Whites saw this as a prelude to insurrection. On September 30, 1919, the PFHUA met with about 100 black farmers at a church near Elaine to discuss their options. They placed armed guards outside to protect the meeting. When two deputized, white men and a black trustee showed up, shots were fired. One of the white men was killed and the other wounded. It has never been determined who fired the first shot, but it ignited a powder keg.
The sheriff called for a posse to capture the suspects and prevent a black insurrection. As many as 1000 men were estimated to have answered the call. They attacked and killed black people on sight. Arkansas Governor Charles Brough called it a Negro uprising, saying black people planned to kill white leaders.
Official records at the time count eleven black men and five white men killed. Other estimates claim up to 237 black men killed. An investigation resulted in indictments against 122 blacks for the murders of the white men.
Twelve defendants, known as the Arkansas Twelve (or Elaine Twelve) were eventually convicted by all-white juries and sentenced to death in the electric chair. The NAACP appealed to the Supreme Court, who overturned the death sentences since they determined the men's convictions lacked due process. In 1923, the Arkansas Twelve were released.
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