Civil Wrongs

When pundits and politicians talk about rural America, it’s often another way of saying white America. But that would also be a misperception, according to the Brookings Institution. The share of people of color living in rural areas has increased in the last decade from one-fifth to about a quarter.As racial diversity in small towns increases, some are working to improve racial understanding there.This episode is part of “Agents of Change: Community efforts to overcome racial inequities,” an editorial series created in collaboration with Report for America, with the support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, that highlights the efforts of local communities to address racial inequalities through grassroots approaches.Resources mentioned in this episode: Mapping rural America’s diversity and demographic change, The Brookings Institution Weakley County Reconciliation Project Discovery Park of America Equal Justice Initiative Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice Text version: Reconciliation group heals terror of the past one relationship at a time People mentioned in this episode: Joyce Washington, Robert Nunley, Linda Ramsey, Scott Williams, Melinda Meador, Madison Jones

This season, we're doing something different by sharing some of the positives that have come from people’s efforts to remember the past. Check back for more episodes.

Black farmers have lost 90% of the land they once owned since 1920. Oral histories of the massacre say land was stolen from victims and survivors. One local group, the Elaine Legacy Center, is digging into the research in hopes of community repair. Resources mentioned in this episode: The Elaine Legacy CenterFund for Reparations NOW!Reuters: U.S. Black farmers lost $326 bln worth of land in 20th century -studyTIAA DivestThe Arkansas Race Riot by Ida B. WellsArkansas Democrat-Gazette: OPINION | BRIAN K. MITCHELL: Even in tragedy, memories fail usFeatured in this episode: Victor Zachary, Jennifer Hadlock, James White, Mary Olson, Rhondalyn Peairs, Lisa Hicks Gilbert, David Krugler, David Madlock, Katherine Holmstrom, Ples Spradley, Abigayle Reese, Annie Zachary PikeJaylen Archie and Quailvarious Brown reported and wrote this episode. The music is by Andrew J. Crutcher. The podcast was produced and edited by Christopher Blank with additional edits by Marc Perrusquia.Correction, Oct. 4, 2024: This episode has been corrected to reflect that the landowner Ida B. Wells referenced in her report co-owned the land with his brother, who was one of the 12 men put on trial after the massacre.Clarification, Oct. 10, 2024: This episode has been updated to clarify the Elaine Legacy Center’s stance on reparations for massacre descendants.

Starting in the immediate aftermath, a "hush mouth" campaign ensued across Phillips County, Arkansas to stifle the telling of the massacre. Now, there are few places that tell the story, and those that do are surrounded by controversy. Resources mentioned in this episode:The Elaine Legacy CenterDelta Cultural CenterElaine Massacre MemorialHelena Museum of Phillips CountyDelta Heritage TrailU.S. Supreme Court decision, Moore v. DempseyFeatured in this episode: Lisa Hicks Gilbert, Mary Olson, Sam Weakley, Otis Sanford, Kyle Miller, David Krugler, John Miller, Ruthie Pride, David MadlockThis episode was reported and written by Henriette Busch, Janina Kaeppel and Will Stewart. The music is by Andrew J. Crutcher. The podcast was produced and edited by Christopher Blank with additional edits by Marc Perrusquia.

The Elaine Massacre of 1919 was one of the deadliest in American history and for decades, its story was suppressed. Descendants of this tragedy say they are still feeling its effects in their small rural Arkansas community. Resources mentioned in this episode:Facebook group: Descendants of The Elaine Massacre VictimsBlood in Their Eyes by Grif Stockley, Brian K. Mitchell & Guy LancasterNewspaper: "Negro Plot to Rise Against the White Residents of the Southern Part of Phillips County"Featured in this episode: Lisa Hicks Gilbert, Charles Edward Brown, James White, Jeannie Whayne, David MadlockThis episode was reported and written by Eli Thompson and Izzy Reaves. The music is by Andrew J. Crutcher. The podcast was produced and edited by Christopher Blank with additional edits by Marc Perrusquia.

The racist caricature that Black people are inherently lazy and morally corrupt underscored the perceived authority of Earle, Arkansas sheriff’s deputy Paul Peacher to haul men off to forced labor in the 1930s. Nearly a century later, similar stereotypes of people with addictions may be driving approaches to their treatment. It’s called work therapy. Every year, thousands of people are required to work without pay as part of their substance abuse treatment. The concept is being challenged in courts across the nation and experts say there’s no proof it helps people overcome addiction.

Slavery was still happening in eastern Arkansas in the 1930s — seven decades after Emancipation. Efforts to seek better pay and working conditions by the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, a rare interracial labor organization, sparked violent backlash from the planter class. One sheriff’s deputy went so far as to arrest and enslave eight Black men on trumped up charges so they could work on land that he was leasing. In this first episode of season 3 of the Institute for Public Service Reporting’s podcast Civil Wrongs, we follow the federal investigation that followed and talk with descendants of people connected to this case who only recently learned this piece of their family history.

Though the Memphis Massacre is virtually excluded from U.S. history education, it has had a long-lasting impact on civil rights, including a direct correlation to the passage of the 14th Amendment. “I think yes, we can draw a very direct line from the Memphis Massacre to the 14th Amendment,” said Tim Huebner, a history professor at Rhodes College. “It was very clear [after the massacre] that the federal government was going to have to have a more active role in order to prevent such episodes of horrific death and violence.” The Memphis Massacre cemented the belief the South could not be trusted to uphold new civil rights laws after the Civil War. So, not only was the 14th amendment submitted for ratification the same year as the massacre, but the federal government increased the intensity of its Southern occupation during Reconstruction. Ironically, the malicious acts of the white mobs in Memphis produced greater protections for Black rights for about a decade. The first historical marker created to publicly remember the event was only erected in 2016 – not by the city or state, but the NAACP. Listeners may find themselves wondering why this history was never taught in school. Besides some very specific college courses, virtually no curricula across the nation, even in Tennessee, contain even the smallest mention of the massacre. The answer to this question is a complex, multifaceted one. Bill Carey, an author and reporter in Nashville, has an idea as to why. “Tennessee may be the single worst state in the country in terms of teaching its own history,” he said. “I have a theory that hugely important things that happened immediately after wars are always overlooked… I have a feeling if the Memphis Massacre happened in 1891, it would be in the standard [curriculum].” Listen to our final episode of this season of Civil Wrongs “Why don’t we know this history?” for a fuller picture of why the Memphis Massacre has been overshadowed in the pages of history.

The ruthlessness of the white mobs during the massacre extended to sexual violence. Multiple women were raped over three days, including five who were brave enough to testify to the congressional committee. It’s unsurprising; rape was used as a sadistic form of control over the enslaved. And with a bloodthirsty mob set loose on Memphis, it followed a pattern set for centuries to cement white dominance as Black women were just getting their first taste of freedom. Other societal norms would make it hard for these women to be heard: Black women were portrayed in media as overtly sexual and the idea that these women did not want to have sex would have been unbelievable to many white people. Rebecca Ann Bloom was one of the women raped during the massacre. “I had just to give up to them. They said they would kill me if I did not. They put me on the bed, and the other men were plundering the house while this man was carrying on.” Yet, investigators questioned the women’s testimony, suggesting they could have stopped their attackers if they wanted to. Like every other white perpetrator of the massacre, no one was ever convicted or even charged with a crime. Today, Memphis still has problems with holding rapists accountable, a problem aggravated in recent years by massive backlogs of rape kits in Memphis and across Tennessee. And again, survivors are speaking out. Listen to our third episode of Civil Wrongs, “’They violated my person’: Sexual violence survivors” to hear the story of Samantha Shell, and why she had to wait 20 years before her rapist was arrested.

The white mobs were led by a specific subset of people: Police officers who were mostly Irish immigrants. At the time, Irish immigrants were viewed as inferior to other white Americans. And with the emancipation of slaves just a year prior and the influx of Black people looking for jobs, Irishmen felt that their tenuous social status was threatened. The environment for violence had been brewing for some time. As violence broke out, police shot at a group of Black veterans, believing themselves to be under fire. Today, the Memphis Police Department’s official history contains just a few words mentioning the massacre, or “riot” as it’s called. The massacre was the first widely reported act of state violence after the Civil War. Legislators warned more would follow if Black people weren’t protected. Indeed, the massacre turned out to be a blip on the radar of America’s long history of police violence over the course of decades. About 100 years later in Memphis – just a week before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in the city — police shot a Black teen named Larry Payne, who witnesses said had his hands up. Or even more recently, there was Tyre Nichols, a Black man whose fatal beating made international headlines for its cruelty. To understand the modern implications of police brutality, we take you to a symposium at the National Civil Rights Museum where national leaders and Nichols’ family convened to talk about solutions. We also take you to a Memphis City Council meeting, where activists pushed to pass reforms they hoped would reduce violent encounters between police officers and the community. Nichols’ family is continuing with its lawsuit against the Memphis Police Department. A criminal case against the officers is ongoing, too.