Struggle & Resistance Achievement & Excellence

September 1919

Black sharecroppers in Elaine, Arkansas had organized the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America to negotiate cotton prices collectively. On September 30, 1919, white men fired into a union meeting at a church; return fire killed one white man. White mobs and federal troops then spent five days hunting and killing Black residents — estimates range from 100 to 237 Black deaths, with only 5 white deaths acknowledged. Twelve Black men were sentenced to death and 67 to long prison terms. The NAACP appealed; in Moore v. Dempsey (1923) the Supreme Court held the trials unconstitutional — one of the first times federal courts reviewed state criminal proceedings for due process violations.

Events

September 30, 1919
Elaine Arkansas Massacre: 100-237 Black Sharecroppers Killed by Mobs and Federal Troops
Black sharecroppers in Elaine, Arkansas had organized the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America to negotiate cotton prices collectively. On September 30, 1919, white men fired into a union meeting at a church; return fire killed one white man. White mobs and federal troops then spent five days hunting and killing Black residents — estimates range from 100 to 237 Black deaths, with only 5 white deaths acknowledged. Twelve Black men were sentenced to death and 67 to long prison terms. The NAACP appealed; in Moore v. Dempsey (1923) the Supreme Court held the trials unconstitutional — one of the first times federal courts reviewed state criminal proceedings for due process violations.
September 28, 1919
Will Brown Lynched from Omaha Courthouse Window, Burned, Dragged Through Streets
Will Brown, a Black meatpacking worker in Omaha, Nebraska, was accused of raping a white woman. A mob of thousands stormed the courthouse, shooting the mayor when he attempted to stop them, dragged Brown from his cell, shot him hundreds of times, hanged him from a traffic light pole, burned his body, and then dragged the charred corpse through downtown streets. The riot destroyed Black-owned businesses and homes. President Wilson dispatched federal troops. The Omaha Bee newspaper had published inflammatory coverage blaming a 'black crime wave' for weeks preceding the riot.