July, 1936, 1936

Several STFU members faced legal charges in the aftermath of the strike, and Gardner Jackson kept union headquarters informed of his efforts to raise bail money (6,10,28). The ACLU sent a copy of their letter to Arkansas governor J.M. Funtrell listing a number of cases in which the civil rights of union members were allegedly violated (8), while J.C. Brookfield, a union lawyer, and the WDL sent reports on the cases of Nathan Smith and Josh Turner, both held on felony charges in Crittenden County (23,30). STFU Vice-President E.B. McKinney, in hiding from the Memphis police, wrote frequently about his poverty and the mistreatment of blacks by white STFU leaders; see also Mitchell's reply (31). Also of special interest in July is a set of three "test letters", addressing black union members by title, sent out in an attempt to catch local postmasters who refused to deliver mail addressed in this fashion (5,7 -- see also an explanatory note by Mitchell at this date).