True Life Tuesday: The Elaine Massacre

 

Another horrible part of American history that is not well known enough.

The Elaine Massacre took place from September 30 - October 2, 1919 in Hoop Spin near Elaine in Phillips County, Arkansas. The events stemmed from tense racial relations and concerns over labor relations. During the riot 5 whites and an unknown number of blacks were killed. Estimates place the number of dead black citizens from 25-100. 

On September 30 about 100 black sharecroppers attended a meeting of the Progressive Union of America at a local church. The sharecroppers were looking to how to have their pay increased. Due to the racial issues in the area along with the increased hostilities toward unions the organizers of the meeting had armed guards placed around the church. Eventually shots were exchanged between the guards and a group of people in a vehicle across the street but it is unknown who shot first. In the exchange a white security officer for Missouri-Pacific Rail Road, W.A. Adkins was killed and the Phillips County deputy sheriff, Charles Pratt, was injured. 

On October 1 the sheriff sent a posse out to arrest the black citizens they felt were responsible for the incident at he church. There was no resistance from the community but the whites, who were outnumbered on a 1 to 10 ratio, were scared that the blacks in the community would rise up against them. Eventually a mob of 500-1000 people from the surrounding counties and as far away as Mississippi decided to put down the "insurrection". 

Once things started to happen the sheriff sent 3 telegraphs to the governor asking for troops to be deployed to the area. The troops arrived on October 2 and the mob dispersed. The troops gathered up black citizens and placed them in stockades until they were questioned and their white employers vouched for them. It was claimed that the troops shot at black citizens indiscriminately. 

High ranking white members of the community formed the "Committee of Seven" to investigate the massacre. The governor, who arrived the previous day, made them promise that they would not lynch anyone. When hey agreed he left the town and returned to Little Rock. The committee stated that there was a conspiracy of the black citizens to kill whites. However, journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett secretly interviewed the arrested black citizens about the torture the endured by the troops and wrote The Arkansas Race Riot documenting their stories.

Eventually 285 black citizens were taken to the jail in he county seat Helena. However, the jail was only made to hold 48 people. On October 31, 122 black citizens were charged by the grand jury with charges ranging from murder to nightriding which is a form of making terrorist threats. By November 5 the firs 12 men were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the electric chair. A total of 68 other  defendants entered pleas to 2nd degree murder in order to avoid a death sentence and were given 29 years. The other defendants had their charges dismissed.

The NAACP took up the cases of the 12 men who were sentenced to death. On appeal 6 of the mend were granted new trials while the others had their sentenced upheld. Eventually in 1925 all of the defendants were released after they plead guilty to 2nd degree murder. 

The massacre split the community for many years. Eventually on September 29, 2019 a memorial to the victims of the massacre was dedicated in downtown Helena.