The Thibodaux Massacre: Racial Violence and the 1887 Sugar Cane Labor Strike

The Thibodaux Massacre: Racial Violence and the 1887 Sugar Cane Labor Strike
ISBN-10
1540201074
ISBN-13
9781540201072
Category
History
Pages
178
Language
English
Published
2016-11-14
Publisher
History Press Library Editions
Author
John DeSantis

Description

On November 23, 1887, white vigilantes gunned down unarmed black laborers and their families during a spree lasting more than two hours. The violence erupted due to strikes on Louisiana sugar cane plantations. Fear, rumor and white supremacist ideals clashed with an unprecedented labor action to create an epic tragedy. A future member of the U.S. House of Representatives was among the leaders of a mob that routed black men from houses and forced them to a stretch of railroad track, ordering them to run for their lives before gunning them down. According to a witness, the guns firing in the black neighborhoods sounded like a battle. Author and award-winning reporter John DeSantis uses correspondence, interviews and federal records to detail this harrowing true story.

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