Never Heard of It? Why the Elaine, Arkansas Massacre of 1919 Must be Remembered

"Over a century ago, on September 30th, 1919, a group of African American sharecroppers gathered in Elaine, Arkansas, in the Mississippi River’s fertile delta. These sharecroppers, only a generation or two beyond the end of slavery, were organizing for a fair share of the income from the crops they grew. White vigilantes, resenting this resistance by Black farmers against the destitution imposed on them, attacked the meeting. Shots were fired, and a white man was killed. What followed became known as the Elaine Massacre. Hundreds of African Americans in Elaine were slaughtered by the white mob, likely aided by law enforcement and federal troops. Historians estimate the number killed at no less than two hundred Black residents – men, women and children. No white participants were ever held accountable."

"It was not the first time racists terrorized Elaine’s Black population. In 1916, Silas Hoskins was lynched there. Hoskins was a prosperous owner of a saloon for African American clientele. Whites who coveted his business repeatedly threatened his life. One night, he didn’t return from work. He’d been lynched. His nine-year-old nephew, staying with them at the time, was Richard Wright, who would become one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Wright captured the Black experience in his writing, most famously in the novel 'Native Son' and in his memoir, 'Black Boy'."

"In 'Black Boy,' Richard Wright described the aftermath of his uncle Silas Hoskins’ murder:

“There was no funeral. There was no music. There was no period of mourning. There were no flowers. There were only silence, quiet weeping, whispers, and fear. I did not know when or where Uncle Hoskins was buried. Aunt Maggie was not even allowed to see his body nor was she able to claim any of his assets. Uncle Hoskins had simply been plucked from our midst and we, figuratively, had fallen on our faces to avoid looking into that white-hot face of terror that we knew loomed somewhere above us. This was as close as white terror had ever come to me and my mind reeled. Why had we not fought back, I asked my mother and the fear that was in her made her slap me into silence.” Wright was forced to flee with his family."

Full Article: [democracynow.org]