What do you think?
Rate this book
Blood in Their Eyes: The Elaine Race Massacres of 1919
The tragedy of the race massacres in Elaine, Arkansas, is not only that they occurred, but that history has ignored them. In riveting prose, Stockley tells the full story of this incident, weighs the evidence and makes a clear and powerful case that white mobs and federal soldiers murdered black citizens of Elaine. And as he maps out the massacre, the resulting trials and the lives of the survivors, Stockley also tracks the twisting and silencing of the truth.
253 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2001
19 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Grif Stockley
19 books13 followersStockley is the author of several books, including Race Relations in the Natural State; Daisy Bates: Civil Rights Crusader from Arkansas, winner of the Ragsdale Award from the Arkansas Historical Association and the Arkansiana Award from the Arkansas Library Association and Blood in Their Eyes: The Elaine Race Massacres of 1919, winner of the Booker Worthen Prize from the Central Arkansas Library System and recipient of a Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History. An attorney who has worked with the Center for Arkansas Legal Services, the Disability Rights Center, and the Arkansas branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, Stockley completed Ruled by Race while serving as a historian and curriculum specialist at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in Little Rock.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 21, 2017
History has always called it the Elaine Race Riots, when it has referred to it at all, but Grif Stockley tediously, meticulously and reverently details the Elaine Race MASSACRES that occurred 30mins away from a place I call home. It is clear that corruption was amok, at literally every level.
This book has so much detail; he takes time to share the written and court documented perspectives of all people involved. (Interesting side note how much the Arkansas Democrat, Arkansas Gazette, and other newspapers played a role in this saga). The one event included so many contradictory information that it is hard to pin down even the true beginnings of the Massacre. Who took that first shot at the Hoop Spur church?
The contrast between the work of the NAACP and middle-class blacks from Little Rock during the Elaine trials is something that probably surprised me the most. I shift occurred in me. "The Elaine massacres had shaken blacks to the core. No longer in Arkansas could they hope that whites would content themselves with sporadic lynchings. Whites had shown themselves to be fully capable of mass violence on an increasing scale. Some kind of political alliance with whites had to be maintained, yet this was increasingly difficult." - I can't even begin to fathom the tension of those doing the work.
I can keep going but I want to end on a new hero of mine: Scipio Jones. I didn't know him before this book. He is the true hero in Arkansas and US history, as well as the long time persuer of the freedom of the Elaine 12 free. I want someone or something in my life named after him. His work, commitment, and style (although at times disagreeable to me) was nothing short of amazing. Looking forward to sharing more thoughts.
I want to end this review on the observation of Stockley, "...he would be duly honored by the NAACP for his dogged and 'brilliant' persistence in the Elaine cases. Yet, as significant as his work in the Elaine cases has been, for the rest of his life he would never forsake his belief that for blacks to survive in Arkansas, certain behavior would be required. Given the unwillingness from the federal government to protect African Americans from white violence during this era (and, indeed, given the government's willingness to act as the perpetrator of such violence), it is difficult to fault his approach, however distasteful it might appear to current sensibilities."
Read it.
This book has so much detail; he takes time to share the written and court documented perspectives of all people involved. (Interesting side note how much the Arkansas Democrat, Arkansas Gazette, and other newspapers played a role in this saga). The one event included so many contradictory information that it is hard to pin down even the true beginnings of the Massacre. Who took that first shot at the Hoop Spur church?
The contrast between the work of the NAACP and middle-class blacks from Little Rock during the Elaine trials is something that probably surprised me the most. I shift occurred in me. "The Elaine massacres had shaken blacks to the core. No longer in Arkansas could they hope that whites would content themselves with sporadic lynchings. Whites had shown themselves to be fully capable of mass violence on an increasing scale. Some kind of political alliance with whites had to be maintained, yet this was increasingly difficult." - I can't even begin to fathom the tension of those doing the work.
I can keep going but I want to end on a new hero of mine: Scipio Jones. I didn't know him before this book. He is the true hero in Arkansas and US history, as well as the long time persuer of the freedom of the Elaine 12 free. I want someone or something in my life named after him. His work, commitment, and style (although at times disagreeable to me) was nothing short of amazing. Looking forward to sharing more thoughts.
I want to end this review on the observation of Stockley, "...he would be duly honored by the NAACP for his dogged and 'brilliant' persistence in the Elaine cases. Yet, as significant as his work in the Elaine cases has been, for the rest of his life he would never forsake his belief that for blacks to survive in Arkansas, certain behavior would be required. Given the unwillingness from the federal government to protect African Americans from white violence during this era (and, indeed, given the government's willingness to act as the perpetrator of such violence), it is difficult to fault his approach, however distasteful it might appear to current sensibilities."
Read it.
August 12, 2019
After the Elaine Massacre, a white guardsman witness admitted, “they were shooting them down like rabbits.” To counter such unsavory truths, the white Arkansas Gazette lied to its readers that one thousand to fifteen hundred “negroes had assembled in the vicinity of Elaine and were armed with high-powered rifles”. Elaine was never attacked by blacks, but it was reported that it was; in fact, not a single white was attacked on his property. The canebrakes that sheltered most of the local blacks that survived the massacre was “two hundred yards deep and extended for two miles.” Whites pretended there was no massacre because they didn’t want blacks upset leaving the area (especially during harvest time) and they feared blacks would retaliate through violence. So, either the massacre didn’t happen, or if it did then it was somehow justified. The American Cletus simply cannot handle cognitive dissonance. To 1919 racist logic, “Whites didn’t murder blacks, they defended themselves against blacks. Whites didn’t cheat blacks, blacks were natural thieves” and black resistance equaled black revolt. After the massacre, the names of the black dead were not mentioned because those of color were, without evidence, considered “the enemy”.
Walter White, wrote that being black “marked me as a person to be hunted, hanged, abused, discriminated against, kept in poverty and ignorance, in order that those whose skin was white could have proof of their superiority.” The lawyer Bratton working on the Elaine case thought he was representing blacks who had merely joined a labor union but soon realized what he was doing was radical because what he really was doing was challenging white supremacy. How will a court sentence so many blacks to death when there is not a single white witness to the murder of the three white Phillips county residents that sparked off the massacre? After the massacre, many whites weren’t done and wanted to put to death those blacks now in custody; the white power structure then had to appease the more extreme elements to keep such racist anger and threat of violence in check. As a result, you will be repelled to know, not a single white person was “charged with so much as a misdemeanor.” Here’s a taste of true Southern Hospitality: one planter recalled in an affidavit, “One of them said to the other, ‘My negroes don’t belong to that blankety blank union’. The other said, ‘How in the hell do you know they don’t?’ He answered and said, ‘I told my negroes about it two weeks ago that if they joined that blankety blank union I would kill every one of them’.” Blacks wrongly jailed after the massacre were tortured to extract confessions against each other. They were whipped multiple times and even put in the electric chair and threatening with flipping the switch – they also had formaldehyde shoved up their noses and were stripped naked – all to make them falsely testify. Ah, real un-varnished American history.
Lynchings were considered “reminders” that death could come to any black at any time, even in police custody. By 1922, the still incarcerated Elaine Twelve felt the beginning of the Klan in Arkansas that year. Of the nine books I’ve now read on this subject, this one concentrates most on the post-Massacre legal (because the author is a lawyer) nightmare that led freeing of the Elaine Twelve and landmark Moore v. Dempsey case which led the NAACP to pursue a policy of litigation for racial justice.
Walter White, wrote that being black “marked me as a person to be hunted, hanged, abused, discriminated against, kept in poverty and ignorance, in order that those whose skin was white could have proof of their superiority.” The lawyer Bratton working on the Elaine case thought he was representing blacks who had merely joined a labor union but soon realized what he was doing was radical because what he really was doing was challenging white supremacy. How will a court sentence so many blacks to death when there is not a single white witness to the murder of the three white Phillips county residents that sparked off the massacre? After the massacre, many whites weren’t done and wanted to put to death those blacks now in custody; the white power structure then had to appease the more extreme elements to keep such racist anger and threat of violence in check. As a result, you will be repelled to know, not a single white person was “charged with so much as a misdemeanor.” Here’s a taste of true Southern Hospitality: one planter recalled in an affidavit, “One of them said to the other, ‘My negroes don’t belong to that blankety blank union’. The other said, ‘How in the hell do you know they don’t?’ He answered and said, ‘I told my negroes about it two weeks ago that if they joined that blankety blank union I would kill every one of them’.” Blacks wrongly jailed after the massacre were tortured to extract confessions against each other. They were whipped multiple times and even put in the electric chair and threatening with flipping the switch – they also had formaldehyde shoved up their noses and were stripped naked – all to make them falsely testify. Ah, real un-varnished American history.
Lynchings were considered “reminders” that death could come to any black at any time, even in police custody. By 1922, the still incarcerated Elaine Twelve felt the beginning of the Klan in Arkansas that year. Of the nine books I’ve now read on this subject, this one concentrates most on the post-Massacre legal (because the author is a lawyer) nightmare that led freeing of the Elaine Twelve and landmark Moore v. Dempsey case which led the NAACP to pursue a policy of litigation for racial justice.
August 14, 2020
“Blood in their Eyes” recounts the 1919 race massacres in Elaine, Arkansas, where five whites were killed. The number of blacks murdered was undocumented, but it’s estimated that it was over 300. Twelve black men were imprisoned and quickly sentenced to be executed, but no whites were ever sentenced. The incident was glossed over in the local and state press. The Governor of Arkansas was present and US Army troops participated in the riot! It’s a glaring example of machinations of the white power structure at the time. I had never heard about the incident until read this book. How many others are there that nobody talks about? This was an eye-opening read for sure.
July 10, 2024
This book covers the details of the Elaine Massacre in the Arkansas Delta. The author explains and examines what happened for this event to happen (though there is not much primary sources on this account). The horrific event should have never happened but this was during the Jim Crow era in the South. Highly recommended read if you are interested in history and history of African-Americans during Jim Crow.
March 5, 2025
I knew the author, Grif Stockley, and heard him speak years ago on this subject. Finally, in a university cultural geography class, I was motivated to get the book and read it. In a word, it is shocking...and not...but in any case, eye-opening. I'm sure he told the story about as well as he could. I would say it is well organized and well written--detail, detail, detail. It is the story of human struggle and tragedy, catastrophic moral failures and persistence.
June 23, 2008
the half-century cover-up of perhaps the largest race riot in American history; in Elaine Ar. (1919) where I spent the first seven years of my life, but later
October 5, 2024
Extremely well researched and written in heartbreaking detail. Details the massacre, coverup and subsequent trial of Africa. Americans in rural Phillips county Arkansas in 1919.
March 6, 2021
A *very* comprehensive book about the Elaine Massacre of 1919. So comprehensive that it took me two years to finish.
August 27, 2024
really interesting! my only complaint is that the chapters are really long and i have to OBSESSED with a book to not be annoyed by long chapters tbh.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews