The Southern Tenant Farmers Union (STFU) was an interracial labor union founded in 1934 by activists in the Arkansas Delta to provide economic security and human rights to sharecroppers and tenant farmers in the South. The union’s founders sought to break the oppressive power of the landowning class and the Jim Crow white supremacist order. Through their struggles and sacrifices, they left a proud legacy for the labor movement and the civil rights movement.
The STFU was led by H. L. Mitchell and Clay East, two white farmers from Mississippi, and Franklin Williams, a black farmer from Arkansas. They believed that only an interracial union could effectively challenge the Southern landowning class and the racist policies of the Jim Crow system. To this end, they created the STFU, which was open to all races and genders regardless of skin color.
The union grew rapidly in its first year, with over 20,000 members signing up from across the South. While the union was successful in raising wages for its members, it faced stiff opposition from the landowners and the white-dominated state governments. The union also had to contend with the Ku Klux Klan, which threatened and harassed its members.
In spite of these challenges, the STFU was able to achieve some important victories. It won minimum wage laws for its members in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and organized strikes and protests to fight for higher wages. The union also launched a campaign for the right to rent and own land, which was denied to sharecroppers and tenant farmers due to the Jim Crow laws.
The STFU was also involved in the civil rights movement, helping to organize the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. The union provided financial and moral support to the boycott, and its members joined the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. The STFU’s legacy of interracial organizing has been a source of inspiration for many other labor and civil rights organizations that followed.
The STFU was disbanded in 1978, but its legacy continues to shape the labor movement in the South. Its commitment to interracial organizing and its willingness to challenge the oppressive power of the landowning class and the Jim Crow system has left a proud legacy for both the labor movement and the civil rights movement. The STFU’s commitment to justice and equality, even in the face of resistance, has set a powerful example for future generations.
Today, the STFU’s legacy is remembered by many. Its legacy of interracial organizing and solidarity has inspired many labor and civil rights organizations that have followed in its footsteps. The union’s commitment to justice and equality, even in the face of resistance, has become a powerful example for generations to come. The Southern Tenant Farmers Union was a revolutionary movement that challenged the oppressive power of the landowning class and the Jim Crow white supremacist order, leaving a proud legacy for both the labor movement and the civil rights movement.
