The 1919 Elaine Massacre Was a Violent Response to Black Sharecropper Organizing
Black sharecroppers organizing a union were slaughtered en masse 103 years ago this week in the Elaine Massacre. It was one of the US’s worst episodes of racist violence — and a reminder that Jim Crow was about keeping the masses divided and labor brutalized.
Troops are seen marching sharecroppers toward temporary holding facilities where hundreds would be arrested. Those who resisted or who were known union members in attendance at the shootout were either shot on site or arrested and sentenced to death by a jury. (Arkansas State Archives)
After the sun went down on Tuesday, September 30, 1919, black sharecroppers and their families descended upon the small church in Hoop Spur, outside of the eastern Arkansas town of Elaine, to attend the third-ever meeting of the local branch of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America (PFHUA).
The excitement and hope in the packed building were palpable. Union leaders likely led the group in rallying songs like “The Favor,” set to the tune of “Maryland, My Maryland.”
Yes everywhere throughout this land
The tillers of the soil must stand
And be a firm united band
Organize, Oh Organize!
To firmly stand against each wrong
Organize, Oh Organize!
Your only hope is union strong
Organize, Oh Organize!
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