Small Arkansas Town Takes on Goliath TIAA

The connection between Elaine, Arkansas, and the Teachers Insurance Annuity of America (TIAA) is a complicated path. Situated 100 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River, and surrounded by rivers, Elaine has always been valued for its agrarian qualities. The flooding and continual shifts in the rivers resulted in exceptionally rich soil throughout the area, which provided some of the best possible conditions for growing crops.

Descriptions from the early 20th century of all the crops that were grown to sustain families and provide monetary rewards, and the magnificent fruit trees that adorned the landscape make Phillips County sound like the Garden of Eden. Now, the fruit trees are long gone, the water is polluted, the area is a food desert and, currently, some of that precious land – 46,000 acres (72 sq. mi.) – is owned by TIAA.

The Elaine Massacre, in and around Elaine, Arkansas, was one of the bloodiest racial conflicts in the U.S. Beginning on September 30, and continuing through October 2, 1919, the exact number of Blacks slaughtered is not known but estimates range from 500 to 1,000 Black men, women and children. The massacre followed what was known as the Red Summer wherein many racially motivated, violent murders had occurred around the country. Perpetrated by white people in reaction to Black landowners and sharecroppers who formed a union to try to get the white landowners to pay them fairer prices for their crops, the resulting massacre forever changed the balance of power in the region.

Photo from Encylopedia of Arkansas / Public domain

Flyer, with false information, circulated by the sheriff in October 1919, telling people to "STOP TALKING! Stay at home---Go to work---Don't worry!" in an attempt to calm Black citizens in Phillips County following the Elaine Massacre.

In the wake of the onslaught, Blacks lost ownership of their farms and businesses. No newspaper reported that the massacre occurred. On October 7, the regional newspaper told Elaine residents, “Stay at home – Go to work – Don’t worry!” Thus began a campaign of lies and cover-up that continues today. This denial that anything happened and minimizing the extent of the slaughter is one component of the white narrative. White residents and historians have falsely maintained either that the land was unsettled or that before the massacre all the land was owned by whites. Perhaps more to the point, they implied that no Black person owned businesses or property there, which is not true. Another facet of the cover-up is the failure – or was it refusal – to exact punishment on any white person for the murders.

Enter TIAA nearly 100 years later. TIAA is one of the most influential financial organizations in the world. Part of its strategy is to invest in land, buying low and holding long enough to sell at a hefty profit, which seems to be working. TIAA owns an estimated 3 billion acres of land worldwide.

In 2010, TIAA began buying up the land in and around Phillips County, Arkansas, and leasing it out. The land is farmed using methods that incorporate the use of herbicides and pesticides that are harmful to both people and the environment. These business practices have severely damaged the environment, polluted water supplies, created a food desert, and significantly damaged the health and longevity of record numbers of people in the area. These practices include the use of chemicals, such as Roundup, dicamba and Paraquat.

To defend the area from what is considered the Slow Massacre, the Elaine Legacy Center formed the social activist group TIAA Exposed. The group has launched a campaign to raise awareness and demand that TIAA be held accountable and act responsibly to reverse the serious impact the chemicals used by their tenants have on residents in the area.

On September 30, 2023, the Elaine Legacy Center hosted a commemoration of the Elaine Massacre on its 104th anniversary. The event was named “The Slow Massacre – 100 Plus Years of History.” One of the presenters, community organizer, attorney, and genealogist Jennifer Hadlock, presented her research on the actual numbers and identities of Black landowners up to the date of the massacre. Her article, “The Slow Massacre: East Phillips and North Desha Counties, Arkansas: Then and Now,” gives an overview of her findings.

On October 25, 2023, a Town Hall was held by the Legacy Center, and citizens were encouraged to “Come With Your Dreams That Could Become Real.” The subject under discussion was what they would want their community to look like if TIAA did “what it claims – feed the world and end inequity.”

The next day, in support of the TIAA Exposed campaign, TIAA-Divest!, a separate social activist group, hosted a webinar entitled “How TIAA Purchased a Legacy of Racism and Murder.” Subjects included the historical information surrounding the massacre, the current farming practices on land owned by TIAA and leased to white farmers in Phillips County, and their devastating results on the health of residents and the quality of the environment. TIAA-Divest! also described TIAA’s lack of transparency regarding its investment in fossil fuels and its strides to, allegedly, offset the negative aspects of such investments.

In addition to educating the audience on the webinar, TIAA-Divest! sought to activate them by introducing demands by TIAA Exposed to TIAA. The audience was encouraged to share the list of demands on their various social media sources. Part of the discussion was about the merits of publicly embarrassing TIAA and damaging what has appeared to be a stellar reputation. TIAA-Divest! gave examples of where TIAA’s public statements don’t live up to its hype, so TIAA-Divest! and TIAA Exposed proposed strategies that might “encourage” TIAA to take steps to reverse the harmful farming practices being employed on their land. They believe making the public aware of these issues could force TIAA to be accountable for their actions.

The following is the list of demands prepared by TIAA Exposed. The Elaine Legacy Center and TIAA Exposed see this as an opportunity for TIAA to lead in a significant way by:

• giving land back,
• stopping chemical spraying and harmful farming practices, and
• funding community reparations for health and healing practices.

TIAA Exposed has a Facebook page, which interested people can follow. To request to be added to the group’s mailing list, send an email to: tiaaexposed@gmail.com.

The Rev. Dr. Mary Olson, a United Methodist minister appointed to the House of Prayer in Elaine, Arkansas, brought this matter to the attention of Ending Racism USA. She works with descendants of the Elaine Massacre of 1919 to replace 100 years of poverty. Dr. Olson is also a member of the Board of Directors of Ending Racism USA.