Arkansas historians will discuss clips from the forthcoming film Elaine at an event Thursday that examines the 1919 massacre near the small southeast Arkansas town.
The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service will screen portions of the film, with historians Guy Lancaster, Brian Mitchell and Grif Stockley providing comments.
Hundreds of black people and five whites died in the 1919 riots, which started with a shootout after unionized sharecroppers gathered to discuss fair wages, according to The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.
The film, by Natalie Zimmerman and Michael Wilson, "portrays the brutal attempts to suppress African Americans in southeast Arkansas just after World War I," according to the Clinton School.
The event starts at noon in the Ron Robinson Theater at the Central Arkansas Library System's main branch, 100 River Market Ave. Those who wish to attend should reserve seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or calling (501) 683-5239.