21. In Spite Of The Tensions, Sharecroppers In Elaine Unionized
Most of the people who joined Robert Hill’s Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America were African American soldiers who had just returned home from fighting in World War I. They were determined to join the fight on the home front by joining the struggle to attain civil rights for themselves and their families.
Joining the union was incredibly risky, and all of the people involved probably knew the chance that they were taking. They paid membership dues and attended meetings, which had to be accompanied by armed guards to protect those inside. But the union meeting on September 30, 1919, would spark one of the worst race riots in American history.
