Thibodaux massacre
Encyclopedia
The Thibodaux Massacre was a violent labor dispute and racial attack
in Thibodaux, Louisiana
in November 1887. Although the number of casualties is unknown, at least 35 and as many as three hundred workers were killed, making it one of the most violent labor disputes in U.S. history. All of the victims were African-American.
was the direct result of a three-week 1887 Sugar Strike organized against cane plantations in Lafourche
, Terrebonne
, St. Mary
, and Assumption
parishes. It was organized by the national Knights of Labor
organization, who had established Local Assembly 8404 in Shreveport
the preceding year. Every harvest season since 1880 had seen some labor action against the statewide Louisiana Sugar Planters Association (LSPA) cartel, organized by Duncan F. Kenner
.
The 1887 strike was the largest, with a force numbering about 10,000, a tenth of whom were white. In October they delivered demands to the LSPA that included an increase in wages to $1.25 a day, biweekly payments, and payment in currency instead of the "pasteboard tickets"
redeemable only at company stores. The demands were ignored, and the strike began on November 1, timed to coincide with the critical "rolling period" of the crop, and therefore threatening the entire sugar cane harvest for the year.
The planters appealed to Louisiana Governor Samuel Douglas McEnery, a planter himself. McEnery, declaring "God Almighty has himself drawn the color line," called out ten infantry companies and an artillery company of the state militia and broke the back of the strike.
The displaced black workers and their families concentrated among supportive elements within Thibodaux, and the state militia withdrew.
.
After rising tensions over the course of two weeks, vigilantes closed the entrances to the city on the morning of November 22. The strikers resisted being boxed in and fired on two of the vigilantes, injuring both. This triggered three days of violence in which unresisting strikers and their families were executed, in town and in the surroundings woods and swamps. A black newspaper described the scene:
This account is the source for the casualty figure of 35. According to Rebecca Jarvis Scott, "No credible official count of the victims of the Thibodaux massacre was ever made; bodies continued to turn up in shallow graves outside of town for weeks to come." Another source describes local white residents privately admitting that more than 50 workers were murdered in Thibodaux. Casualties incurred during the associated strike suppression include "as many as twenty people" in one November 5 incident alone, in the black village of Pattersonville in St. Mary Parish
.
A fictionalized version of the story appears in the 2008 film The Man Who Came Back
.
Mass racial violence in the United States
Mass racial violence, also called race riots can include such disparate events as:* attacks on Irish Catholics, the Chinese and other immigrants in the 19th century....
in Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux is a small city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 14,431 at the 2000 census. Thibodaux is a principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux...
in November 1887. Although the number of casualties is unknown, at least 35 and as many as three hundred workers were killed, making it one of the most violent labor disputes in U.S. history. All of the victims were African-American.
Sugar Strike
The massacreMassacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
was the direct result of a three-week 1887 Sugar Strike organized against cane plantations in Lafourche
Lafourche Parish, Louisiana
Lafourche Parish is a parish located in the south of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was originally the northern part of Lafourche Interior Parish, which consisted of the present parishes of Lafourche and Terrebonne. The parish seat is Thibodaux...
, Terrebonne
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
Terrebonne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Houma. Its population was 111,860...
, St. Mary
St. Mary Parish, Louisiana
St. Mary Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Franklin. As of 2000, the population was 53,500.The Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of St. Mary Parish.-Geography:...
, and Assumption
Assumption Parish, Louisiana
Assumption Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and was formed in 1807 as an original parish of the Louisiana Territory. Its parish seat is Napoleonville. In 2000, its population was 23,388. Assumption is one of the 22 Acadiana parishes. Its major product is sugarcane...
parishes. It was organized by the national Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
organization, who had established Local Assembly 8404 in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
the preceding year. Every harvest season since 1880 had seen some labor action against the statewide Louisiana Sugar Planters Association (LSPA) cartel, organized by Duncan F. Kenner
Duncan F. Kenner
Duncan Farrar Kenner was a Louisiana politician, lawyer, and diplomat for the Confederate States of America.-Biography:...
.
The 1887 strike was the largest, with a force numbering about 10,000, a tenth of whom were white. In October they delivered demands to the LSPA that included an increase in wages to $1.25 a day, biweekly payments, and payment in currency instead of the "pasteboard tickets"
Company scrip
Company scrip is currency issued in certain industries to pay workers. Such scrip can only be exchanged by wage-earners in company stores owned by their employers and often charging inflated prices. In the UK, such systems have been formally outlawed under Truck Acts.In the United States, mining...
redeemable only at company stores. The demands were ignored, and the strike began on November 1, timed to coincide with the critical "rolling period" of the crop, and therefore threatening the entire sugar cane harvest for the year.
The planters appealed to Louisiana Governor Samuel Douglas McEnery, a planter himself. McEnery, declaring "God Almighty has himself drawn the color line," called out ten infantry companies and an artillery company of the state militia and broke the back of the strike.
The displaced black workers and their families concentrated among supportive elements within Thibodaux, and the state militia withdrew.
Events in Thibodaux
State district Judge Taylor Beattie declared himself head of the "Peace and Order Committee" in Thibodaux, declared martial law, organized a local vigilante group, and decreed that blacks within the city limits would need to show a pass to enter or leave. Beattie was a cane planter, an ex-Confederate, an ex-slaveholder, and a former member of the Knights of the White CameliaKnights of the White Camelia
The Knights of the White Camelia was a secret group of the American South from 1867 through about 1870, similar to and associated with the Ku Klux Klan, supporting white supremacy and opposed to Republican government....
.
After rising tensions over the course of two weeks, vigilantes closed the entrances to the city on the morning of November 22. The strikers resisted being boxed in and fired on two of the vigilantes, injuring both. This triggered three days of violence in which unresisting strikers and their families were executed, in town and in the surroundings woods and swamps. A black newspaper described the scene:
- " 'Six killed and five wounded' is what the daily papers here say, but from an eye witness to the whole transaction we learn that no less than thirty-five Negroes were killed outright. Lame men and blind women shot; children and hoary-headed grandsires ruthlessly swept down! The Negroes offered no resistance; they could not, as the killing was unexpected. Those of them not killed took to the woods, a majority of them finding refuge in this city."
This account is the source for the casualty figure of 35. According to Rebecca Jarvis Scott, "No credible official count of the victims of the Thibodaux massacre was ever made; bodies continued to turn up in shallow graves outside of town for weeks to come." Another source describes local white residents privately admitting that more than 50 workers were murdered in Thibodaux. Casualties incurred during the associated strike suppression include "as many as twenty people" in one November 5 incident alone, in the black village of Pattersonville in St. Mary Parish
St. Mary Parish, Louisiana
St. Mary Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Franklin. As of 2000, the population was 53,500.The Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of St. Mary Parish.-Geography:...
.
A fictionalized version of the story appears in the 2008 film The Man Who Came Back
The Man Who Came Back (2008 film)
The Man Who Came Back is a 2008 western film directed by Glen Pitre. It stars Eric Braeden, Billy Zane, George Kennedy, and Armand Assante.-Plot:...
.