W: Some of the hardships I face are making sure the crops are well-tended and are able to sell at the market, economic issues, and dealing with often challenging relationships with landowners. It’s very hard to put your full trust into landowners, for they can easily cheat you. Growing crops is not as easy as it seems because the weather conditions have to be right. As for economic issues, it’s very often that sharecroppers are in debt at the end of the year. There’s a credit-system called “crop-lien” where sharecroppers pledge a large portion of next year's crop, but being a sharecropper are earning some money for hopes of a good future and being able to keep your family alive.
E: Are you aware of the difficulties you might face in Texas?
W: Having been a sharecropper for many years, I’m sure I am. I’m very much aware of the varying weather here in Texas and the possibilities of droughts. I also hear that Texas has more than 1,300 different kinds of soil due to its wide diversity of climate, vegetation, geology, and landscape. I’m hoping to make good use of the wide
INTERVIEW WITH A SHARECROPPER
7
Elizabeth: Mr. Blake, what brings a sharecropper like you here to Texas?
Willis: Well, I hear that Texas has an abundant amount of land that is perfect for growing crops on.
E: Now, can you describe the provisions usually given to a sharecropper?
W: The landowner provides us with tools, seeds, fertilizers, and other supplies necessary to cultivate crops. We're also provided with food and shelter for our labor.
E: What are some of the hardships you must face as a sharecropper?
it leads to over-production of crops and further declines in the prices. Sharecropping certainly doesn’t fully give us the economic independence we wanted, but any of us would do anything for a better life for our family.
E: What are some rewards that can come out of being a sharecropper?
W: To be honest, there really aren’t many rewards that can come out of this kind of job. We do earn a share of money for our own land to support our family, but the ongoing debt proves as a barrier to a better life. So I say the only rewards that could come out of