Scrolling Poems

Part I: AT THE FALL 11:00 P.M., Tuesday, September 30, 1919: The Hoop Spur Lodge Of The Progressive Farmers And Household Union Meets At Hoop Spur Church, Just North Of Elaine, Arkansas; First Shots Of The Elaine Race Massacre Ring Out.   The sounds of children,...

About 9:30 A.M., Thursday, October 2, 1919

About 9:30 A.M., Thursday, October 2, 1919: Prominent Helena Black Dentist D.A.E. Johnston And His Three Brothers, Returning From A Hunting Trip, Are Immediately Arrested In Elaine And Are Shot And Killed Shortly Thereafter; One Of The Johnstons Reputedly Killed A...

Morning, Thursday, October 2, 1919

Morning, Thursday, October 2, 1919: Frank Moore And His Family With Others, At The Edge Of The Canebrakes, Begin To Stir And Observe Federal Soldiers Advancing North Up Highway 44 From Elaine.   The faint smell of gunpowder mixed With the odor of first mornings,...

Before Midnight, Wednesday, October 1, 1919

Before Midnight, Wednesday, October 1, 1919: Sharecropper Frank Moore, His Mother, Wife, And Children Hide In Rivercane A Short Distance East Of The Killing Fields.   Daybreak will come with another round Of vengeance, another onslaught, only worse, With more...

Evening, Wednesday, October 1, 1919

Evening, Wednesday, October 1, 1919: T. K. Jones, Security Chief In Eastern Arkansas For The Missouri Pacific Railroad, Boards A Train For The Short Trip From Elaine To Helena And Passes The Site Of The Hoop Spur Church, Now Burned To The Ground.   Should torches...