- So, tell me where we are right now.

- We're in Elaine, Arkansas.

We are so excited to be here, this is our first time here.

And Elaine, Arkansas, has so much history that we're here to better understand and learn about it.

- Should we go in?

- Yes, absolutely.

- All right.

- Some of the surrounding area of Elaine is still cotton country, and a hundred years ago much of it was farmed by black sharecroppers.

In 1919, a traumatic event unfolded here that our country has largely ignored, and riding through here now it feels like Elaine still carries the weight of that history.

The city's first black and first female mayor, Lisa Hicks Gilbert, and local pastor George Gibson are joining us to talk about the past, what it means to Elaine today, and the significance of the city being included in the Delta Heritage Trail.

They both love to ride, so they fit right in.

That's how the mayor, thanks for welcoming me and and the whole BikePOC crew.

- Absolutely.

- So, what should we know about this amazing town and this story mayor.

- Pastor, you've been here the longest.

(group laughs) - Been here all my life.

- Born and raised here.

- Born and raised here.

- Yeah.

- And I look at what you guys are seeing now that these streets, there was a time when they were filled with people and all of these buildings were filled with businesses and that was running, and now you see what it is.

- Yeah.

- But like we said, we are still hopeful.

- Elaine is a beautiful community and it is that way because of the people here.

- Yeah.

- A resilient people.

- Resilience is usually in response to trauma.

- Yes.

- Exactly.

- So what is the trauma here?

- The trauma stems from one of the worst racial massacres in the history of this country, the Elaine Massacre of 1919.

- Yeah.

- The Elaine massacre was just one of many massacres.

- Yeah.

- Racial violent disturbances that happened in the summer of 1919.

- And who was perpetrating these massacres?

- Who was the perpetrators?

- Yeah.

- Led primarily by plantation owners, wealthy business owners who own most of the plantations and farms here in Elaine, and we route Phillips County, those were the primary perpetrators.

(upbeat music) - The summer of 1919, known as the Red Summer, saw dozens of violent attacks against black communities and cities across the country.

That September, black sharecroppers in Elaine held a union meeting at a local church.

They wanted fair wages, payments for their labor and crops, and a chance to buy their own land.

Intent on disrupting the meeting and the sharecropper's efforts, intruders stormed the church.

Violence ensued and one white man died in an exchange of gunfire.

In retaliation for his death, white mobs joined by law enforcement and eventually federal troops slaughtered members of the black community.

The number of the dead has been suppressed but it's believed hundreds of black people were massacred in just a few days.

And it all started because sharecroppers dared to seek fair pay.

In the end, dozens of black people were charged with inciting violence and murder.

No white residents were charged for any crime.

- I only learned about it 15 years ago, and I only learned about it when researching a lot and came home, asked my grandmother about it, - Yeah.

- And she confirmed the stories were true.

And I spent the next five to six years getting those stories out of her about the Elaine Massacre.

- Why didn't she tell you of her own accord?

- Transgenerational trauma, transgenerational fear.

They were silent for all of those, you know, generations, they were silent.

(bright music) - Children are the ones that lived on that time.

You know, they were, they're still reluctant- - Yeah.

- To talk about it.

(bright music) - The history of the Elaine Massacre and the red summer of 1919 are rarely taught in schools.

The whitewashing of the atrocities that occurred that summer still persist today.

(bright music) As people come to this state or people within the state explore it, explore this heritage in the Delta, and they come to Elaine, what do you want them to see?

What do you want them to know?

- We know our history, we're gonna educate about our history, but more important, we need to learn from that history.

- Yeah.

One thing I've learned on this journey across America is that exploring the outdoors can bring us face to face with some of the darkest moments of our past.

The Delta Heritage Trail gives us the chance to confront parts of America's history that often get left out.

- They're working to expand it all the way to Arkansas City.

So that'll give us an opportunity to bike down through places that we've known and grown up in all our lives.

- And to see nature - And see nature.

Oh my goodness, I know.

- And you saw a Bobcat here.

- Oh yeah.

I was walking, and yeah.

(group laughs) - You don't sound as excited about that one mayor.

That's a city resident, right, there's a constituent.

- It was a Bobcat cat and he stopped, I stopped and he looked up and I'm like, okay, how hungry is he?

So yeah.

- Y'all ready to ride?

- Yes.

- Ready to ride.

- Me too.

I'm honored to be in Elaine with the mayor and BikePOC.

They exemplify that word, resilience.

Using the outdoors to reclaim their history, heal and spread joy.

- I always wanted to get out, I just wanted to get outside and ride my bike and be free.

Outside is where I feel most comfortable, most at home, most at peace.

- I truly love it.

And I'm doing this for me, and I'm doing this for kids like me.

We've seen how biking can empower communities and economic mobility.

And I think there's a lot more work to be done.

(bright music) - [Narrator] A lot more work to be done, indeed.