The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Diversity Council will host a lunch and learn session with Dr. Brian Mitchell, professor of history, who will discuss the 1919 Elaine Massacre. 

The event will begin at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 7, in Donaghey Student Center Ledbetter A. The event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided to the first 30 participants.

The Elaine Massacre is remembered as one of the deadliest racial conflicts in the country. In September 1919, representatives of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America met with approximately 100 African-American farmers at a church to discuss unionizing. When a group of white men interrupted the meeting, two white men were shot. The sheriff organized a posse. A mob of an estimated 500 to 1,000 white people stormed through Phillips County, killing black men, women, and children on sight.

In his lecture, Mitchell will relate this historical event to present-day issues around fear, propaganda, and the power of words.

Mitchell was recently featured in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about his research that helped the family of Leroy Johnston, an Elaine Massacre victim and World War I veteran, receive his WWI military honors. Additionally, he was a featured expert in the New York Post’s documentary about the Elaine Massacre, “Dark History.”