Biography
Elijah Thompson was a Black worker held by Chicago police at the request of Alabama authorities seeking extradition in connection with the shooting of three women at Irondale, two of whom died. The August 28, 1931 Daily Worker Birmingham dispatch names him in full, says the International Labor Defense opposed extradition, and attributes to the ILD evidence that he and another accused worker had been in Chicago on the night of the crime. The newspaper describes the prosecution as part of racist repression and the campaign against the Communist movement; those are attributed contemporary defense claims, not a judicial finding. The report does not establish an exact arrest, completed extradition, conviction, release or total detention. He is distinct from the National Miners Union defendant Leo Thompson. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1931/v08-n207-NY-aug-28-1931-DW-LOC.pdf#page=1
