There's no royal blood a coursing in my veins No great family background for me remains I haven't had a chance as others have had My living conditions have been kind a bad But it makes no difference what folks think or say I'M DETERMINED TO BE SOMEBODY SOMEDAY William Herbert Brewster
Fayette
9 Mapping a Movement Here Here is Fayette County Tennessee marked on a map In 1950 it was the third largest land area in the state and third poorest county in the nation Fayette County's population of 28,000 was two thirds Black and the Black majority was made up mostly of unlearned sharecroppers living on cotton farms owned by white landowners While it was lawful for all adults to vote in public elections the white ruling class in Fayette used the terror of fire and lynching to render Blacks powerless by suppressing Black voting and discouraging Black participation in the electoral process The county's list of registered Black voters showed less than thirty names But in 1959 after the legendary trial of sharecropper Burton Dodson an uprising swept through the county like a forceful wind This historical period is called the Fayette County Tent City Movement Examining this period of American history reveals the power of what is possible when people unite to challenge injustice and make freedom a reality for all Sharecroppers were farmers who paid for seed tools and a place to live not with money but with a share of the crops they raised on the landowners farms Most sharecroppers were Black uneducated and frequently cheated of their wages from white landowners who exploited the defenseless workers
