Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Elaine massacre.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 150 Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Elaine massacre. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 26, 2019 Mr. CRAWFORD (for himself, Mr. HILL of Arkansas, Mr. WOMACK, and Mr. WESTERMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Elaine massacre. Whereas between September 30 and October 1, 1919, an un- known number of African Americans were murdered in a racially motivated riot; Whereas the violence erupted when the unionization of share- croppers was falsely portrayed as a Black insurrection against White landowners; Whereas estimates range between 100 to 240 victims, making the massacre one of the worst instances of mass racial violence in United States history; Whereas official investigations were only made into the deaths of 5 White people who were also killed in the vio- lence; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR150.IH HR150 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 150 IH Whereas those investigations resulted in the prosecution of 122 African Americans; and Whereas subsequent litigation resulted in the historic United States Supreme Court decision of Moore et al. v. Demp- sey in 1923, the first Supreme Court case regarding the treatment of African Americans in State criminal justice systems, setting a precedent for future review of State criminal convictions: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) honors the lives and legacies of the un- 2 known number of African Americans who were mur- 3 dered in Phillips County, Arkansas, 100 years ago; 4 (2) expresses its deepest sympathies to the fam- 5 ilies of the victims; and 6 (3) recognizes the role the massacre played in 7 strengthening United States citizens’ due process 8 rights through Moore v. Dempsey, which set a prece- 9 dent for the Supreme Court’s subsequent review of 10 State criminal trials and their compliance with the 11 Bill of Rights. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR150.IH HR150 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS