Mississippi Freedom Labor Union founded

Ajouté : 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]On this day in Southern labor history, May 31st, 1965, the Mississippi Freedom Labor [music] Union was formed. In the spring of 1965, a group of 45 farm workers began meeting in [music] the small cotton producing town of Shaw, Mississippi. Workers discussed the harsh and exploitative conditions of work and life in the cotton fields and were encouraged by leaders of the Student Nonviolent [music] Coordinating Committee or Snake to form a union. The workers decided on a structure and a name for their union, the Mississippi Freedom Labor Union. Hundreds of farm workers began to pour into their ranks.

[00:00:32]On May 31st, workers on plantations in Indianola, Tribbett, and other small towns across the Delta went on strike when plantation owner A.L. Andrews refused to meet workers singular demand to [music] be paid a minimum wage of $1.25 per hour. Within just a few weeks of the strike, the union had grown to 1,350 members, 350 of whom were on strike against dozens of plantations [music] spanning six counties. The strike began to receive a national audience when striking workers were evicted from a plantation owned by segregationist [music] U.S. Senator James Eastland. At its peak, around 80 families had been evicted by the plantation owners for their participation [music] in the strike. In an effort to bring more federal attention to their struggle, the union decided to occupy federal lands on the Greenville Air Force Base. With the help of local churches and civil rights activists, the union [music] built a tent city on the base for the evicted families of striking workers. The encampment became known as [music] Strike City.