A Different Day

by Greta de Jong

  Oklahoma, 61, 97

  Opelousas, La., 13, 101, 103, 110, 163, 185

  Opelousas Daily World, 171

  Opportunity, 106

  Orleans Parish, La., 16, 156, 162, 163

  Ouachita Parish, La., 2, 66, 75, 90, 135, 149, 162

  Overton, Fred, 170

  Paddio-Johnson, Eunice, 266 (n. 16)

  Palmer, Henry E., 168

  Parker, John, 86

  Patterson, Catherine, 193

  Peay, L. D., 203

  Peery, Nelson, 128, 139

  Peonage, 20, 29–31, 34, 36, 37, 45, 74, 78, 106, 225 (nn. 30–32), 228 (nn. 57, 64), 229–30 (n. 14), 231 (n. 28)

  Peterson, Roald, 114

  Phillips, Abraham, 101, 103, 108, 258 (n. 28)

  Pickering, John, 45

  Pierce, Edith, 127, 132

  Plantation owners: domination of communities by, 5, 13, 18, 21, 32, 36–38, 81, 86, 92–93, 111, 145, 146, 227 (n. 48); and violence, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19–20, 30–31, 33–34, 35–36, 49, 57, 70–71, 86, 110–11, 165–66, 224 (n. 25), 227 (n. 52);

  and restrictions on black mobility, 13, 15, 18, 29–30, 33–34, 36, 45–46, 70–71, 106, 132–35, 225 (n. 30), 229–30 (n. 14);

  exploitation of black labor by, 13, 15, 19–20, 23–24, 27–28, 29–31, 32, 42–45, 46, 104, 225 (n. 30), 229–30 (n. 14), 241 (n. 24), 245 (n. 57);

  class interests of, 16, 17–18, 21, 23, 221–22 (nn. 5, 7);

  and black civil rights, 16, 167, 176, 185–86, 202–4, 212, 276 (n. 17);

  and labor unions, 17, 102–3, 110–11, 114, 148, 165–66, 220 (n. 6), 224 (n. 25), 248 (n. 78);

  and federal agricultural policies, 80–81, 86, 92–93, 96–97, 102, 108, 112–13, 114, 133–34, 135, 199–200, 245 (n. 57), 246–47 (n. 69);

  and New Deal, 87, 92–93, 94, 95–97, 103–5, 112–13, 245 (n. 55)

  Plantations: rice, 4, 11–13; mechanization of, 9, 96, 135–36, 145;

  sugar, 10–11, 17, 23, 27–28, 29, 39, 42, 46, 52–53, 57, 70–71, 95, 103–5, 122–24, 165–66, 224 (n. 25), 236 (n. 45), 244–45 (nn. 55, 57, 59);

  cotton, 11, 19, 23, 24–27, 29, 45, 46, 59, 78–79, 95, 122–24, 136–37, 148, 221 (n. 1), 236 (n. 45);

  as businesses, 21–22, 23, 24–25, 86, 133, 148, 222 (n. 12), 223 (n. 18), 224 (n. 20);

  labor shortages on, 66, 70–71, 75, 95–96, 119, 129–30, 132–36, 241 (n. 24). See also Agricultural workers; Plantation owners; Plantation system

  Plantation system: limits of protest within, 2, 5–6, 19–40, 152, 179–80; disintegration after World War II, 9, 145, 146–53, 185–86, 211–12, 276 (n. 17). See also Plantation owners

  Plaquemine, La., 177, 178, 181–82, 190, 194

  Pleasant, Ruffin G., 35

  Pointe Coupee Parish, La., 2, 3; political

  and economic conditions in, 23, 29, 33, 49, 52, 82, 88, 93, 106, 109, 110, 123, 132, 135, 148, 152, 163;

  black activism in, 52, 55, 58, 78, 88, 155, 163, 171, 177, 180, 189, 190, 200;

  Louisiana Farmers’ Union in, 98, 103, 105, 106, 108, 109, 247 (n. 70), 258 (n. 28)

  Police. See Law enforcement

  Police brutality. See Law enforcement: violence in

  Political activism, black. See also Local activists; Social context—for economic independence, 4, 7, 8, 206, 219 (n. 12);

  during Reconstruction, 15–16;

  in Jim Crow era, 43–49, 55–56, 230 (n. 19);

  during World War I, 66, 78–80;

  in New Deal era, 88–90, 102–7, 108–10;

  during World War II, 118–19, 124, 126–27, 129–30, 136–37;

  in 1950s, 144, 149–53, 155, 164–66, 173–74;

  in 1960s, 175, 176, 182, 196–98, 199–204;

  after 1965, 212

  —for education, 4, 8, 206, 230 (n. 23); during Reconstruction, 15;

  in Jim Crow era, 49–52;

  during World War I, 66, 80;

  in New Deal era, 88–89, 90–91, 107;

  during World War II, 119, 125;

  in 1950s, 144, 153, 155–61, 169–70;

  in 1960s, 197, 198–99, 201;

  after 1965, 209–10, 212–13

  —informal: in Jim Crow era, 2, 4, 6–8, 41–63, 206, 218–19 (n. 2); during World War I, 65–67, 77–80;

  in New Deal era, 88–91, 93–94;

  during World War II, 118–19, 128–29, 140;

  after 1965, 212–13

  —organized, 4–6, 8; in Jim Crow era, 7, 38, 48, 55, 61, 83–84, 218–19 (n. 2);

  during World War I, 64, 67–69;

  in New Deal era, 86, 97–115;

  during World War II, 124–27;

  in 1950s, 144–45, 146, 150, 153–65, 170–71;

  in 1960s, 172–74, 175–95, 205–6;

  after 1965, 195–206, 208–13

  —for political participation, 4, 8, 206; during Reconstruction, 15;

  in Jim Crow era, 56;

  during World War I, 67;

  in New Deal era, 107–8;

  during World War II, 124–25, 126;

  in 1950s, 144, 153, 161–64;

  in 1960s, 175, 176–88, 195–96, 199–200;

  after 1965, 207–9, 210–12, 213

  —against segregation, 7; in Jim Crow era, 62, 231 (n. 28);

  during World War II, 128–29, 138;

  in 1950s, 166–67, 169–70, 176;

  in 1960s, 172, 175, 182, 196–97

  —studies of, 2–8, 218–19 (nn. 2, 11), 220 (n. 13)

  —themes in, 4, 8, 18, 41–42, 86, 102, 155, 206, 212–13, 218–19 (n. 2)

  —against violence, 4, 8, 206; during Reconstruction, 16–17;

  in Jim Crow era, 57–62, 232 (n. 44);

  during World War I, 66, 68;

  in New Deal era, 111–12;

  during World War II, 126, 139–40;

  in 1950s, 155, 170–71;

  in 1960s, 176, 183, 188–95, 270 (n. 44), 271–72 (n. 57);

  after 1965, 209

  Political economy. See Social context

  Poll tax, 18, 86, 161, 211

  Poor white people, 16, 18, 35, 81, 86, 87, 91–92, 100, 101, 126, 130–32, 137, 164, 173–74, 197, 200, 204, 210, 262 (n. 68)

  Populism, 17

  Port of Embarkation, New Orleans, 127, 132

  Poverty, black: in Jim Crow era, 5, 20, 22–30, 32, 39–40, 42, 45, 48, 50–51, 66, 78, 106; during Reconstruction, 15;

  during Great Depression, 85, 104, 106;

  and World War II, 149–

  53;

  in 1960s, 177, 196, 198, 206, 226 (n. 36);

  after civil rights movement, 207, 210–12, 276 (n. 17)

  President's Committee on Civil Rights, 142

  President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice (FEPC), 126–27, 130, 131, 142, 145

  President's Committee on Farm Tenancy, 108

  Price, O. G., 80

  Princeville Canning Company, 148, 149, 186–87

  Pringle, Hizzie, 71

  Prisoner-of-war camps, 135

  Progressive Funeral Home, 55

  Progressive Voters’ League (PVL), 161–62, 163

  Protestants, 10, 11, 54. See also Churches

  Provost, Joseph, 132

  Race-baiting, 166–67, 174

  Race riots, 16, 61, 69–70, 82, 94, 138–39

  Railroads, 21, 22, 28, 70

  Rapides Parish, La., 35, 75, 111, 127, 144, 149, 204, 251 (n. 13)

  Rarick, John R., 185, 268–69 (n. 31)

  Reconstruction, 13–18, 42, 48, 50, 88, 168, 212

  Redden, Meg, 182–83, 190

  Red River Delta, 3, 11, 25, 67

  Red River Parish, La., 88

  Red Scare, 83

  Religion. See Churches

  Republican Party, 15, 16, 50, 67, 88, 142, 145, 231 (n. 28)

  Resettlement Administration. See Farm Security Administration

  Resistance. See Political activism, black: informal

  Richard, John B., 101

  Right-to-work legislation, 166, 167, 262 (n. 65)
/>   Ringgold, J. E., 79, 80

  Ritchie, Ewan, 35

  Roberts, Farrell, 202

  Robinson, James, 172, 264–65 (n. 2)

  Rogge, O. John, 19–20

  Roman Catholic Church. See Catholics

  Roosevelt, Eleanor, 88

  Roosevelt, Franklin D., 85, 87, 88, 90, 112, 117, 126, 133, 141–42

  Rose, Harry Jack, 109

  Rosenwald, Julius, 50

  Rosenwald Fund, 50

  Rubin, Steven, 194

  Rural poor black people: as activists, 5–9, 17, 18, 41–49, 97–115, 155, 181, 199–202, 206, 219 (nn. 2, 7); living and working conditions of, 22–31, 32, 196, 209, 211–12. See also Agricultural workers

  Russian Revolution, 83

  Rustin, Bayard, 172

  Sabine Parish, La., 128

  St. Bernard Parish, La., 16, 95

  St. Charles Parish, La., 68, 135

  St. Francisville, La., 35, 148, 149, 181, 184, 188, 192

  St. Francisville Democrat, 209

  St. Helena Parish, La., 2, 3; black landowners in, 48–49, 179, 266 (n. 12);

  black activism in, 50, 80, 160, 162, 169–70, 177, 179, 180, 194, 198–99, 266 (n. 16), 271–72 (n. 57);

  political and economic conditions in, 160, 162, 169–70, 210, 212

  St. John the Baptist Parish, La., 162

  St. Landry Farm, 102–3, 107, 109, 111

  St. Landry Parish, La., 2, 3; black activism in, 16, 98, 102–3, 107, 109, 111, 125, 160, 163, 165, 179, 200–202, 203–4;

  political and economic conditions in, 33, 36, 94, 110, 117, 135, 160, 163, 165, 212, 236–37 (n. 45), 266 (n. 12)

  St. Mary Parish, La., 53, 75, 76, 92, 131, 135, 204

  St. Mary Parish Benevolent Society, 56

  St. Rose, La., 68

  St. Tammany Parish, La., 2, 3

  Satyagraha, 172, 179, 192. See also Nonviolence

  Savant, J. P., 36

  Scholarship, Education, and Defense Fund for Racial Equality (SED-FRE), 200, 208

  Schuler, Edgar, 117, 129, 130, 139

  Schuyler, George, 125

  Scott, Emmett J., 82

  Scott, Irene, 101, 111, 112

  Scott, John Henry, 140, 153

  Scott, Willie, 101, 111, 112

  Segregation, 7, 42, 81, 116, 126, 138; legislation, 18;

  and modernization, 20, 149;

  of schools, 31, 166–67, 182, 197, 209–10;

  in U.S. armed forces, 69, 127–28, 141, 143;

  of public facilities, 172, 175–76, 182;

  abolition of, 204. See also Desegregation; Political activism, black: against segregation

  Selective Service and Training Act (1940), 118

  Seligmann, Herbert, 82

  Sepia Socialite, 124

  Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944), 150–51, 266 (n. 16)

  Sevier, Andrew, 227 (n. 48)

  Sharecroppers. See Agricultural workers

  Share Croppers’ Union (SCU), 8, 86, 97–100, 242 (n. 35), 243 (n. 40). See also Louisiana Farmers’ Union

  Sharecropping. See Agricultural workers; Tenancy

  Shongaloo, La., 34

  Shreveport, La., 35, 44, 48, 67, 68, 69, 83, 84, 119, 251 (n. 13)

  Simmesport, La., 101

  Sims, Charles, 194, 271 (n. 52)

  Singleton, N. H., 170

  Sit-ins, 172–73, 177, 181, 182

  Slater Fund, 50

  Slavery, 11, 13, 15, 16, 49, 65, 196, 212, 222 (n. 5), 230 (n. 19)

  Smith, James, 35

  Smith, Jerome, 62, 193

  Smith, Nathaniel, 183

  Smith, Sonny, 33

  Smith-Lever Act (1914), 77, 81

  Smith v. Allwright (1944), 142, 144, 161

  Social context, 4, 63; in Jim Crow era, 5, 19–40;

  impact of New Deal, 8, 85–86, 88–90, 92–94, 106, 112, 115;

  impact of World War II, 8–9, 116–17, 118–24, 126, 129–30, 135–37, 141–43;

  during World War I, 64–65;

  after World War II, 144–53, 198, 219 (n. 2)

  Socialists, 83, 97

  South Carolina, 143, 155–56

  Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), 5, 172

  Southern Consumers’ Cooperative (SCC), 203, 204

  Southern Farm, Leader, 99, 101, 106, 107, 108

  Southern Gentlemen, 167, 170

  Southern Regional Council, 150, 173

  Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union (STFU), 8, 97, 99, 108, 165–66, 261 (n. 63)

  Southern University, 151, 177, 265 (n. 10)

  Soviet Union, 114, 142, 167, 242 (n. 35)

  Spears, Laura, 195

  Spillman, Howard, 92

  Spillman, Thomas E., 186, 211

  Stallworth, Lola, 266 (n. 16)

  State rights, 39, 143, 169

  States’ Rights Party, 143, 208

  Stevenson, Aldero, 152

  Stewart, Henry, 23, 30, 46, 59

  Stirling, Robert, 46

  Strikes, 17, 98, 126, 130, 131, 165–66, 182, 224 (n. 25)

  Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), 2, 5

  Students, 9, 153, 172–73, 177–78, 180, 181–82, 189, 190, 194, 198–99, 264–65 (n. 2), 271–72 (n. 57). See also Education, black

  Students’ Association for Freedom and Equality (SAFE), 198–99

  Suddeth, Willa, 49

  Sugar Act (1937), 103, 122

  Sugar workers, 17, 27–28, 29, 42, 46, 52–53, 57, 70–71, 100, 103–5, 165–66, 224 (n. 25), 245 (nn. 57, 59)

  Sullivan, William Henry, 37–38

  Sweet potato industry, 148, 149, 184, 186–87, 200–201

  Sylvester, Armas, 34

  Taft-Hartley Act (1947), 155, 166

  Tallulah, La.: political and economic conditions in, 36, 58, 89, 90, 119, 140, 164–65, 191, 197–98, 208, 212, 239 (n. 10); black activism in, 51–52, 140, 151, 152, 153, 162, 164–65, 190, 192, 197–98, 208

  Tangipahoa Parish, La., 2, 76, 129, 151, 177

  Taylor, Mildred, 94

  Teachers: black, 38, 49, 50–51, 68, 79, 80, 107, 125, 144, 155–59, 170, 180, 201, 231 (n. 28), 266 (n. 16); white, 155, 157, 210

  Tenancy, 16, 24–27, 137, 146, 223 (n. 18), 224 (n. 20), 229–30 (nn. 10, 14), 236–37 (n. 45), 239–40 (n. 13). See also Agricultural workers; Plantations

  Tensas Parish, La., 2, 3, 27, 59, 109, 146, 151, 162, 164

  Terrebonne, Linus, 157, 158

  Terrebonne Parish, La., 32, 70–71, 76

  Texas, 31, 43, 45, 69–70, 97, 139, 155

  Thames, Norvel, 146

  Theft, 6, 46–48, 230 (n. 19)

  Thibodaux, La., 17

  Thierry, Louis, 160

  Thomas, Earnest, 192, 271 (n. 52)

  Thomas, Willie, 43

  Todd-Johnson shipyard, 131

  To Secure These Rights, 142

  Total Community Action, 204

  Trottie, Forest, 68

  Truman, Harry S., 142–43, 145

  Tubman, Harriet, 51

  Tulsa, Okla., 61

  Tureaud, A. P., 92, 153, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 170

  Turner, B. K., 44–45

  Turner, Nat, 51

  Tuskegee Institute, 76–77

  Unemployment, 9, 13, 16, 29, 53, 55, 87, 89, 91–92, 153, 181, 182, 201, 202, 211–12

  Union Parish, La., 94

  United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, 83

  United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA), 100, 243 (n. 42)

  Urban League, 106, 125, 164

  U.S. armed forces: treatment of African Americans in, 69, 82, 118–19, 127–28, 138, 139, 141, 145–46, 150–51; black activism in, 116, 128–29,

  139;

  desegregation of, 141, 143. See also War veterans, black U.S. census, 24, 223–24 (n. 19)

  U.S. Civil Service Commission, 143

  U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 208

  U.S. Constitution, 39, 141–42, 167, 191

  U.S. Department of Agriculture. Se
e Federal government: agricultural policies of

  U.S. Department of Justice, 19–20, 30, 38–39, 88, 94, 141–42, 163, 177, 184, 187, 191–92, 194, 208. See also Federal Bureau of Investigation

  U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 195

  U.S. Selective Service, 71, 118

  U.S. Supreme Court, 38, 142, 144, 161, 166, 169, 198, 208

  U.S. War Department, 70, 128, 139

  U.S. War Food Administration, 123

  U.S. War Labor Policy Board, 74

  Vance, S. W., 78

  Vickery, Ed, 180

  Violence: in maintenance of white supremacy, 1, 5, 9, 16, 40, 59, 66, 94, 126, 135, 138–39, 141, 145, 205; by plantation owners, 2, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19–20, 30–31, 33–34, 35–36, 49, 57, 70–71, 86, 110–11, 165–66, 224 (n. 19);

  elite complicity in, 35–36, 227 (n. 52);

  by police, 36, 69, 127, 138, 160, 163, 166, 171, 189, 190, 191, 192, 197;

  in lumber industry, 37–38, 83;

  in response to civil rights movement, 160, 162–63, 170, 188, 189, 191, 192, 203, 210;

  subsides after 1960s, 209. See also Armed self-defense

  Voter Education Project (VEP), 173, 195, 264 (n. 87). See also Congress of Racial Equality: and voter registration

  Voter registration: in 1960s, 1, 5, 62, 173, 175, 176–88, 189, 193–94; in Jim Crow era, 7, 67;

  during Reconstruction, 15;

  after World War II, 56, 142, 144, 146, 153, 161–64, 168–69;

  after Voting Rights Act of 1965, 195–96, 197, 199, 207–9, 210–11, 213. See also Disfranchisement

  Voters’ leagues, 1, 9, 144, 153, 155, 162, 177, 179, 191–92, 194, 196, 197–98

  Voting Rights Act (1965), 9, 195–96, 204, 208

  Wage rates: on cotton plantations, 19, 23, 24, 26–27, 29, 45, 78–79, 95, 122; in lumber industry, 22, 23, 29, 90, 149, 165, 239 (n. 9);

  for agricultural workers, 22, 23–24, 29, 76, 95–96, 115, 119, 122, 132, 136–37, 148, 239 (n. 9), 251 (n. 14);

  on sugar plantations, 23, 27–28, 29, 39, 95, 103–5, 122, 136, 224 (n. 25), 245 (nn. 57, 59);

  on New Deal relief projects, 45, 88–89, 92, 94, 95;

  for domestic workers, 48, 93;