would pledge loyalty to the Southern Tenant Farmers Union (STFU), a racially integrated sharecroppers' union, hoping that the sharecroppers' cause would help bring unity to Commonwealth. Through this collaboration with the STFU, delegations from Commonwealth would travel throughout Arkansas to help organize. In one such event, Koch and a student travelled to Gilmore, Arkansas to collaborate with black organizers, but were interrupted, beat, and kidnapped by a white mob. They were eventually let go, however, STFU leader H. L. Mitchell became concerned that the student with Koch was distributing Communist Party literature, harming the relationship between the STFU and Commonwealth College. Despite this, the relationship between the two continued, with STFU members enrolling at Commonwealth College, and STFU organizers teaching at the school. In 1936, Lucien Koch stepped down as the school's director, and left Commonwealth College. In August 1937, John Markey became educational director, while wife Dorothy Markey (Myra Page) taught English writing. Eleanor Roosevelt visited during their year there. Christian socialist the Reverend Claude C. Williams, "the preaching hillbilly," then served as director from 1937 until 1940. During this period, several people identified with Commonwealth were actively involved with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Education for racial tolerance was a key element of this campaign and Commonwealth developed theater and puppet programs for this purpose. In response to Commonwealth's higher profile, right-wing pastors and legislators in Arkansas began targeting the school. A magazine article alleging ties with the Soviet Union, as well as a proposed state bill targeting the school with sedition, led to nationwide scrutiny of the school. In response, the STFU and the American Fund for Public Service launched a reluctant defense of Commonwealth College, although simultaneously attempting to persuade the school to become less radical. This led many of the school's students to become disillusioned with H. L. Mitchell and the STFU, and in 1938, a group of them attempted to write to the Communist Party to persuade them to provide material support to communist students. As a result, the STFU cut all ties with Commonwealth College. In 1938, the House Un-American Activities Committee was re-formed, and began targeting the American Civil Liberties Union, deeply impacting their ability to support Commonwealth. From late 1938 to 1940, the school was hit with a series of financial setbacks, such as a fire which destroyed park of the school's campus, a declining student body, the departure of