In 1887 Louisiana's Black laborers reached out to the Knights of Labor Union. They were FED UP with meager wages and racist employers.
The union quickly organized, delivering letters to white farmers demanding they increase laborers' daily wages from 42 cents to $1.25. These demands were ignored, so the laborers went on strike. Enraged, white farmers retaliated. Strikebreakers were hired, and Black strikers were evicted from their tenant homes.
Many Black strikers took refuge in Thibodaux, Louisiana. They barely settled in before trouble found them. A mob of vigilantes had tracked them down and barricaded Thibodaux, preventing all Black people from leaving without questioning. The terrorists were determined to identify strikers and punish them violently.
One night, a Black striker injured a vigilante in self-defense, and the mob retaliated by killing 35 Black civilians and dumping their bodies in landfills. The Thibodaux Massacre drove out Southern labor unions, which didn’t return until the 1930s.
White revisionist history wants us to believe our people just “couldn’t get it together” after emancipation. The truth? We fought hard, but white supremacy enforced Black poverty through violence. It’s crucial we know our true worth and continue to demand that our needs be met.