11. African American Sharecroppers Decided To Unionize
Robert Lee Hill was an African American sharecropper in the Arkansas Delta who advocated for better working conditions and fair pay for other sharecroppers. To that end, he formed the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America, a labor union specifically for tenant farmers and sharecroppers.
In 1919, when he began encouraging sharecroppers to join the union, many African Americans had recently returned from fighting in World War I. Disenfranchised by the racism that they returned home to after risking their lives for their country, many World War I veterans joined.
