Editing Elaine, Arkansas (section)

== History ==
{{See also|Elaine massacre}}
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2024}}
Phillips County was developed in the antebellum years for cotton plantations, which relied on the labor of enslaved African Americans. Their work produced the wealth of the major large planters. Cotton continued to be the major commodity crop into the 20th century in this area but, after the war, blacks often had to work as sharecroppers or tenant farmers. By the turn of the century, Arkansas and other southern states had [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchised most blacks]], excluding them from the political system, and imposed [[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow]] laws.

Black sharecroppers began to try to organize a farmers' union after World War I. They were seeking better payment and accounting from white landowners of the area cotton plantations. Whites resisted any change and often tried to break up their meetings.

On September 30, 1919, two white men, including a local deputy, tried to break up a meeting of Black sharecroppers who were trying to organize a farmers' union. After a white deputy was killed in a confrontation with guards at the meeting, word spread to town and around the area.<ref name="Grdn2019"/> Hundreds of whites from Phillips and neighboring areas rushed to suppress the Black communities, and started attacking the Black community at large. [[governor of Arkansas|Governor]] [[Charles Hillman Brough]] requested federal troops to stop what was called the [[Elaine massacre]]. White mobs spread throughout the county, murdering an estimated 237 blacks before most of the violence was suppressed after October 1.<ref name="encyclopediaofarkansas.net">[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1102 Elaine Massacre, Arkansas Encyclopedia of History and Culture]; accessed April 3, 2008.</ref> Five whites also died in the incident. The governor accompanied the troops to the scene; their use had been approved by [[U.S. President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]]. Sharecroppers generally remained at a disadvantage in dealing with white landowners.

The county continues to rely on agriculture, but mechanization reduced the need for farm labor. Many African Americans left this area in the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] of the early 20th century. In the 21st century, most farms are industrial scale. Some seasonal Hispanic migrant workers have been hired in this area since the late 20th century.

At 6:15 PM, April 26, 2011, a tornado – part of the [[2011 Super Outbreak]] – hit the Elaine area.<ref name=Memphis>[http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=MEG&product=PNS&format=CI&version=2&glossary=0 NWS Memphis Office Report]</ref> The tornado was rated [[Enhanced Fujita scale|EF0]], with estimated wind speeds of {{convert|75|mph|km/h kn}}.<ref name=Memphis/> The tornado's path of destruction was {{convert|200|yd|m}} wide and the tornado traveled a path of {{convert|21.5|mi|km}} along [[U.S. Route 61|Highway 61]] and across the [[Mississippi]] state line, ending near [[Lula, Mississippi]].<ref name=Memphis/> Most of the tornado's damage was concentrated in [[Friars Point, Mississippi|Friars Point]] and [[Coahoma, Mississippi|Coahoma]], Mississippi.<ref name=Memphis/>