Thread by @BFriedmanDC

The ICE raid in Mississippi reminded me of this letter I saved during some genealogical research. I don't remember where I came across it or why I saved it. It's a bit of a historical mystery. But it strikes me as an example of how far parts of America have regressed since 1927.

So far as I can tell, farmers and landowners in Wheeling, Louisiana needed laborers (not far from where my 6-year-old grandfather lived). So they relied on the local colored community. Everything apparently seemed fine.

But being that this was rural Louisiana in 1927, it wasn't.

It seems not everyone in the community was on board. From the sound of the letter, it looks like the workers were being harassed. Maybe by racist law enforcement. Maybe by the Klan. Who knows.

The difference between 1927 and 2019, however, is that in 1927, the employers in Louisiana banded together to protect their colored employees from interference. This is in stark contrast to the Mississippi plant where the employers apparently welcomed ICE.

The farmers and landowners in Wheeling did not mess around. At least 31 of them signed this letter threatening to punch Nazis before Nazis were much of a thing.

They wrote:

"We give this as a warning to those who are now or who may hereafter interfere with the colored labor who may be employed . . . and suggest to them that such interference cease at once or steps will be taken in the matter to have the colored labor protected in the community."

Now, I'm under no illusions about these 31 farmers and landowners. Protecting their financial situation was, I'm sure, the driver here more than a moral imperative to deconstruct white supremacy in the South.

But still. They went to bat for their colored employees in the face of hostile, open racism. They stood up for them.

And I feel like following their example from 1927 is the *least* we should expect from our own companies when the Trump administration enters our communities.

If any historians can shed light on this letter, would love to hear it!