The Herrin Massacre. By the 1920's, the U.M.W.A. had changed slightly from the Brush Massacre days in 1899, in that they were now carding members that were African Americans, Italians, Irishmen, Poles, and Germans, many of whom now lived in or near Herrin, Illinois and surrounding towns. This did not go unnoticed by the Ku Klux Klan …