Robert L. Hill
Encyclopedia
Robert Lee Hill was an African American
sharecropper
from eastern Arkansas
and founder of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America
.
Robert Lee Hill was born in Dermott
, Chicot County
, Arkansas
. Records of Hill's birth and early life are a mystery. Documents with his handwriting seem to show that he had some form of limited formal education. Hill did complete a correspondence course as a private investigator and was known to refer to himself as "Robert Hill, U.S. Detective".
Sometime before 1918 Hill moved from his birthplace to the town of Winchester, Arkansas
in Drew County. Hill was married, had two children, and worked for the Valley Planting Company.
While living in Winchester he became active in organizing the African-American laborers and sharecroppers and formed the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America
. Hill based his association on black fraternal organizations, the international trade union movement, and Booker T. Washington
's National Negro Business League
. Hill intended to use the organization to force landowners to pay tenant farmers their full shares and establish union-owned farms.
During the summer of 1919 Hill encouraged hundreds of African-American sharecroppers and sawmill workers to join his organization. Hill had particularly success amongst African-American veterans of World War I
who were embittered over their post-war treatment. During that summer, Hill organized union chapters in the small towns of Hoop Spur, Ratio, Elaine
, Old Town, Countiss, Ferguson, and Mellwood.
In the fall, two of the chapters hired lawyers from Little Rock
to try and force fair treatment in the courts. Black informants reported this information to local whites. Gunfire broke out at a meeting of the Hoop Spur chapter which led to the famous Elaine Race Riot
.
Hill himself escaped the ensuing chaos and fled to Kansas
. Hill became the most wanted man in Arkansas and authorities portrayed him as the leader of a conspiracy to kill plantation owners.
On 20 January 1920 Hill was arrested in Kansas after Arkansas police pinpointed his location from an intercepted letter that Hill had written to his wife. After his capture Arkansas officials charged him with murder and asked for his extradition. Federal authorities indicted Hill for inciting to riot and impersonating a federal officer.
Governor Henry Justin Allen
of Kansas
refused to extradite Hill, after intense lobbying by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
, citing his belief that Hill could not receive a fair trial in Arkansas and would not be safe in Arkansas jails. Hill was released on 11 October 1920 after federal charges were dropped due to NAACP lobbying with authorities in Washington.
Hill fused music, religious imagery, and patriotism into his organizing efforts which leads many critics to label him as a demagogue. There were also unsubstantiated claim that Hill organized the union solely for his own economic benefit. Hill, in a letter, denied any attempt to kill white plantation owners stating that it would be senseless to kill plantation owners in Phillips County, Arkansas when he had local chapters in "25 to 30 counties".
It is known that Hill suffered an injury while working at a meatpacking plant in Topeka, Kansas
in 1921. Hill was unable to work and attempted to convince the NAACP to give him a position with that organization. James Weldon Johnson
, the NAACP secretary recommended that he join the Topeka branch. No further word of Hill was ever received and his later life has been lost to history.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
sharecropper
Tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management; while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying...
from eastern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and founder of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America
Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America
The Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America was a union of African-American tenant farmers . A meeting of this union at Hoop Spur, Arkansas, was attacked on September 30, 1919, leaving a white sheriff dead and sparking the famous Elaine Race Riot.The Progressive Farmers and Household...
.
Robert Lee Hill was born in Dermott
Dermott, Arkansas
Dermott is a city in Chicot County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 3,292 at the 2000 census. Dermott was incorporated in 1890.Dermott is home to the Dermott Crawfish Festival.-Geography:Dermott is located at ....
, Chicot County
Chicot County, Arkansas
Chicot County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population is 11,800. The county seat is Lake Village. Chicot County is Arkansas's tenth county, formed on October 25, 1823, and named after Point Chicot on the Mississippi River.Landmarks around the county include...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. Records of Hill's birth and early life are a mystery. Documents with his handwriting seem to show that he had some form of limited formal education. Hill did complete a correspondence course as a private investigator and was known to refer to himself as "Robert Hill, U.S. Detective".
Sometime before 1918 Hill moved from his birthplace to the town of Winchester, Arkansas
Winchester, Arkansas
Winchester is a city in Drew County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 191 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Winchester is located at ....
in Drew County. Hill was married, had two children, and worked for the Valley Planting Company.
While living in Winchester he became active in organizing the African-American laborers and sharecroppers and formed the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America
Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America
The Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America was a union of African-American tenant farmers . A meeting of this union at Hoop Spur, Arkansas, was attacked on September 30, 1919, leaving a white sheriff dead and sparking the famous Elaine Race Riot.The Progressive Farmers and Household...
. Hill based his association on black fraternal organizations, the international trade union movement, and Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
's National Negro Business League
National Negro Business League
The National Negro Business League was an American organization founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900 by Booker T. Washington, with the support of Andrew Carnegie...
. Hill intended to use the organization to force landowners to pay tenant farmers their full shares and establish union-owned farms.
During the summer of 1919 Hill encouraged hundreds of African-American sharecroppers and sawmill workers to join his organization. Hill had particularly success amongst African-American veterans of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
who were embittered over their post-war treatment. During that summer, Hill organized union chapters in the small towns of Hoop Spur, Ratio, Elaine
Elaine, Arkansas
Elaine is a city in Phillips County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 865 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elaine is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, Old Town, Countiss, Ferguson, and Mellwood.
In the fall, two of the chapters hired lawyers from Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
to try and force fair treatment in the courts. Black informants reported this information to local whites. Gunfire broke out at a meeting of the Hoop Spur chapter which led to the famous Elaine Race Riot
Elaine Race Riot
The Elaine Race Riot, also called the Elaine Massacre, occurred September 30, 1919 in the town of Elaine in Phillips County, Arkansas, in the Arkansas Delta, where sharecropping by African American farmers was prevalent on plantations of white landowners.Approximately 100 African American farmers,...
.
Hill himself escaped the ensuing chaos and fled to Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. Hill became the most wanted man in Arkansas and authorities portrayed him as the leader of a conspiracy to kill plantation owners.
On 20 January 1920 Hill was arrested in Kansas after Arkansas police pinpointed his location from an intercepted letter that Hill had written to his wife. After his capture Arkansas officials charged him with murder and asked for his extradition. Federal authorities indicted Hill for inciting to riot and impersonating a federal officer.
Governor Henry Justin Allen
Henry Justin Allen
Henry Justin Allen was the 21st Governor of Kansas and U.S. Senator from Kansas .Allen was born in Warren County, Pennsylvania to John and Rebecca Elizabeth Allen...
of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
refused to extradite Hill, after intense lobbying by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
, citing his belief that Hill could not receive a fair trial in Arkansas and would not be safe in Arkansas jails. Hill was released on 11 October 1920 after federal charges were dropped due to NAACP lobbying with authorities in Washington.
Hill fused music, religious imagery, and patriotism into his organizing efforts which leads many critics to label him as a demagogue. There were also unsubstantiated claim that Hill organized the union solely for his own economic benefit. Hill, in a letter, denied any attempt to kill white plantation owners stating that it would be senseless to kill plantation owners in Phillips County, Arkansas when he had local chapters in "25 to 30 counties".
It is known that Hill suffered an injury while working at a meatpacking plant in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
in 1921. Hill was unable to work and attempted to convince the NAACP to give him a position with that organization. James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is remembered best for his leadership within the NAACP, as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and...
, the NAACP secretary recommended that he join the Topeka branch. No further word of Hill was ever received and his later life has been lost to history.
Further reading
- Cortner, Richard, A Mob Intent On Death, ISBN 0-8195-5161-9