Mean Things Happening in This Land

H. L. Mitchell’s autobiography Mean Things Happening in This Land provides rare insight into the formation and activities of the interracial Southern Tenant Famers’ Union (STFU) in Tyronza (Poinsett County) in the 1930s. Originally published by Allanheld, Osmun, and Co. Publishers of Montclair, New Jersey, in 1979, the book was reprinted in 2008 by the University of Oklahoma Press, with some corrections and additions offered by Mitchell.

Mitchell, co-founder of the STFU, was a former sharecropper from Halls, Tennessee, who ran a dry cleaning shop in Tyronza. His life serves as a microcosm of both the oppression and activism that occurred in rural spaces during the 1930s, and his memoir embeds his life experiences within the broader historical systems of rurality, class, and race. As the title suggests, he highlights the “mean things” happening in the rural South, including systematic economic exploitation of sharecroppers by the planter class and evictions of sharecroppers during the Great Depression. As a counterpoint, he also explains resistance through confrontations with the planters and depicts how class solidarity overpowered the otherwise strict racial color line.

In charting the history of the STFU’s creation, Mitchell presents a first-hand account of how the forces of economic desperation, grassroots activism, and class solidarity (aided by some socialist ideology) converged to form an interracial union in the unlikely space of a small town in Arkansas. Mitchell highlights the complex nature of union organizing and activism during this era, when the threat of physical violence and death was always present. Mitchell explains how he feared for his own life numerous times and details the attempted lynching of STFU member Howard Kester at a church, demonstrating how organizers risked their lives in their efforts. Ideological divisions and attempted allegiances with national organizations like the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) also added to the complicated nature of organizing. While Mitchell does not downplay the role of socialists like Norman Thomas in the rural labor movement, he explains that not everyone always agreed on the best course of action. Thus, one of the greatest contributions of Mitchell’s work is acknowledging the often complex and contentious nature of organizing.

Upon its publication in 1979, Mean Things Happening in This Land was met with mixed reviews. Though reviewers acknowledged the importance of this first-person account of the formation of an interracial union, some quibbled with Mitchell’s reminiscences regarding the actual accomplishments of the STFU. In a 1979 review for the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Tom Dillard argued Mitchell had a “hard time distinguishing his goals from his accomplishments” and dubs as exaggerations some of Mitchell’s claims, such as that the union “paved the way for the ultimate abolition of segregation.”

Still, Mitchell’s work represents something important to Arkansas and regional history. By chronicling the creation of the Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union and the hardships of sharecroppers, Mitchell contributed to the history of a moment when an interracial union and collective action briefly challenged the long-standing economic and racial hierarchies of the South.

For additional information:
Dillard, Tom. “Review of Mean Things Happening in This Land.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 38 (Winter 1979): 370–373.

Grubbs, Donald H. Cry From the Cotton: The Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union and the New Deal. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1971.

Mitchell, H. L. Mean Things Happening in This Land: The Life and Times of H. L. Mitchell, Co-Founder of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. (1979). Rev. ed. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008.

Review of Mean Things Happening in This Land. Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 1979. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/h-l-mitchell/mean-things-happening-in-this-land-the-life-and/ (accessed March 20, 2026).

Ross, James D., Jr. The Rise and Fall of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union in Arkansas. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2017.