- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture Launches Online Exhibit Commemorating Arkansas’s First African American Optometrist

John Hill — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 14:34:34 +0000

The Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has launched a new online exhibit exploring the life and achievements of Dr. William Townsend, a civil rights leader in Arkansas who was the first African American licensed to practice optometry in the state. The exhibit, “Dr. William H. Townsend: Optometrist, Civil Rights Leader, State Representative,” follows Townsend’s career and public service highlights and is available . Townsend, who passed away in 2005, was known as a trailblazer and is honored on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail. He was the first African American licensed to practice optometry in Arkansas, one of the first African Americans to serve in the Arkansas House of Representatives since the 1890s, and the first African American to chair the Aging and Legislative Affairs Committee. “Dr. Townsend has a prominent role in politics and the professions in Arkansas,” said Dr. Deborah Baldwin, CAHC director and principal investigator on the grant. “He is a good example in the City of Little Rock of an African American who contributed in a variety of arenas. We have records relating to his service as a legislator and his time as an optician. This is one of our collections that we envisioned would capture the public interest.” The exhibit is funded by an African American History and Culture Grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council, which provides funding for nonprofit organizations who wish to research, document, preserve, and interpret the state’s African American history and culture. Townsend was born July 30, 1914, in West Point, Mississippi, but grew up in Earle, Arkansas. After high school, he joined the army during World War II. While he was on duty, he studied at Nottingham University in England. After the war, Townsend became a student at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. In 1950, he graduated from the Northern Illinois College of Optometry. He opened an optometrist clinic in Little Rock not long after graduating. Townsend was very active in Arkansas politics. During the 1950s, he was a founding member and served as the president of the Council of Human Relations. This council helped to desegregate public schools and businesses in the state. He was also a member of the Council of Community Affairs, which was formed in 1961 by a group of black medical professionals. They facilitated the peaceful desegregation of downtown Little Rock in 1963. In 1966, Townsend served as the chairman of the Arkansas Voter Project, a statewide voter registration initiative run under the Southern Regional Council’s Voter Education Project. In 1972, Townsend was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives for the first of 12 terms. CAHC archivists Adrienne Jones and Cody Besett, Laura McClellan, CAHC assistant director, and Dr. Nathan Marvin, assistant professor of history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, all contributed to the project.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock receives grant to commemorate history of Arkansas civil rights leader William Townsend

John Hill — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 15:23:48 +0000

The Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received a grant to explore the cultural and political sphere of Dr. William Townsend, an Arkansas civil rights leader and the first African American licensed to practice optometry in the state. The Arkansas Humanities Council awarded the CAHC an African American History and Culture Grant, which provides funding for nonprofit organizations who wish to research, document, preserve, and interpret the state’s African American history and culture. The $3,799 grant for the project, “Exploring Cultural and Political Spheres: Dr. William H. Townsend, Arkansas Professional and Civil Rights Leader,” will fund the center’s efforts to digitize Townsend’s papers and create a character collection and social media posts highlighting the Townsend papers. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown will also host an exhibit on Townsend in February 2022 to celebrate Black History Month. “Dr. Townsend has a prominent role in politics and the professions in Arkansas,” said Dr. Deborah Baldwin, CAHC director and principal investigator on the grant. “He is a good example in the City of Little Rock of an African American who contributed in a variety of arenas. We have records relating to his service as a legislator and his time as an optician. This is one of our collections that we envisioned would capture the public interest.” Archivists Adrienne Jones and Cody Besett, Laura McClellan, CAHC assistant director, and Dr. Nathan Marvin, assistant professor of history, will take part in the project. Townsend, who passed away in 2005, was known as a trailblazer and is honored on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail. He was the first African American licensed to practice optometry in Arkansas, one of the first African Americans to serve in the Arkansas House of Representatives since the 1890s, and the first African American to chair the Aging and Legislative Affairs Committee. Townsend was born July 30, 1914, in West Point, Mississippi, but grew up in Earle, Arkansas. After high school, he joined the army during World War II. While he was on duty, he studied at Nottingham University in England. After the war, Townsend became a student at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. In 1950, he graduated from the Northern Illinois College of Optometry. He opened an optometrist clinic in Little Rock not long after graduating. Townsend was very active in Arkansas politics. During the 1950s, he was a founding member and served as the president of the Council of Human Relations. This council helped to desegregate public schools and businesses in the state. He was also a member of the Council of Community Affairs, which was formed in 1961 by a group of black medical professionals. They facilitated the peaceful desegregation of downtown Little Rock in 1963. In 1966, Townsend served as the chairman of the Arkansas Voter Project, a statewide voter registration initiative run under the Southern Regional Council’s Voter Education Project. In 1972, Townsend was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives for the first of 12 terms.

Elaine 12 inducted into Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 14:40:41 +0000

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Elaine Massacre, the deadliest racial conflict in Arkansas history, but the scars of the tragedy still follow the family members of the victims generations later. Shelia Walker, who lives in Delaware, always knew her family held a closely guarded secret. Her great-uncle, Albert Giles, was a member of the Elaine 12, a dozen black sharecroppers in Phillips County who were wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death by an all-white jury following the Elaine Massacre in 1919.�� The Elaine 12 were eventually freed after the landmark Moore vs. Dempsey Supreme Court ruling in 1923. Afterwards, Giles fled Arkansas in fear of his safety and spent the rest of his life in Illinois, where he eventually was laid to rest in Springfield, far away from his family members who knew little about his life after incarceration. “My grandmother, who was traumatized by all this, was never able to really be close to her only child, my mother, and her grandchild,” Walker said. “My family suffered because of the Elaine Massacre. The effects still carries on a generation later.”�� The University of Arkansas at Little Rock inducted the now deceased members of the Elaine 12 into the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail during a ceremony at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown on Nov. 5. The men include Giles, Alfred Banks, Ed Coleman, Joe Fox, Paul Hall, Ed Hicks, Frank Hicks, Joe Knox, John Martin, Frank Moore, Ed Ware, and William Wordlaw. “Throughout the summer and now this fall, there have been numerous events around the state marking this important anniversary,” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale said. “It is important because telling the stories of those who lived through the incredible violence in the summer of 1919, we learn from what is now all our story.”��

Elaine Legacy Center representative Lenora Marshall said the commemoration of the Elaine 12 means everything to the people of Elaine and allows them to talk about an event that was once considered taboo.
Photo by Ben Krain.

Lenora Marshall, member of the Elaine Quorum Court and representative of the Elaine Legacy Center, said the commemoration of the Elaine 12 means everything to the people of Elaine and allows them to talk about an event that was once considered taboo.�� “It’s a tremendous move because there has been a gag order for far too long on the people of Elaine,” Marshall said. “Everyone was afraid to talk about it. Just as Little Rock has the Little Rock Nine who survived struggles, we have the Elaine 12 to raise up as civil rights heroes.”�� The Elaine Massacre began Sept. 30, 1919, when representatives of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America met with approximately 100 African-American farmers at a church in Hoop Spur, near Elaine, to discuss unionizing. When a group of white men who learned about the meeting interrupted the discussion, two law enforcement officers were shot. A mob of an estimated 500 to 1,000 white people stormed through Phillips County, killing black men, women, and children on site. U.S. troops were called in, and the mob dispersed Oct. 2. Historians estimate that more than 200 African-American men, women, and children were murdered during the Elaine Massacre, and hundreds more were convicted of crimes in the aftermath.�� “Held in concentration camps, hundreds of black sharecroppers were detained until their participation in the union could be verified,” said Kwami Abdul-Bey, co-convener of the Arkansas Peace and Justice Memorial Movement. “Scores of the union members were charged with assault, murder, and night riding. Twelve members were charged with capital murder and sentenced to death in trials that lasted no more than 20 minutes each. The total amount of time to convict them was 86 minutes.” After the Elaine 12 were released from prison, much was left unknown about their lives. However, Dr. Brian Mitchell, assistant professor of history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, has been conducting research with his students to solve mysteries surrounding the Elaine Massacre. One of the research projects included researching the post-prison lives of the Elaine 12, so that historical markers can be placed on their grave sites.��

Dr. Brian Mitchell thanks and congratulates history students for their contributions to the Elaine 12 study. Photo by Ben Krain.

“I really want to thank my students for all their hard work,” Mitchell said. “One of the things we strive to do at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is prepare our students for the future. To take the study of the Elaine Massacre from obscurity to a national story has been done with the efforts of the students.”�� Mitchell’s students read the names of the Elaine 12 at the induction ceremony. Four family members of the Elaine 12 accepted medallions on their behalf. They include Walker, great-niece of Albert Giles; Rev. Stephen Bradley, a relative of Ed Coleman; Dorothy Neal, granddaughter of Joe Knox; and Lisa Hicks-Gilbert, family member of Frank and Ed Hicks.�� Hicks-Gilbert, who only decided to speak publicly a few days before the event, said the ceremony gave her an opportunity to break her family’s silence regarding the Elaine Massacre.�� “I was very reluctant to come and speak today,” Hicks-Gilbert said. “I speak today for the Elaine 12, who changed their names and hid even from family and were never able to tell their own stories, and for my granddad, who knew of his family’s history but told my grandmother to hush and never speak of it again if asked.”�� Gene Thompson, a recent history graduate of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock who conducted research with Mitchell, felt grateful that the stories of the Elaine 12 were now in the spotlight.�� “This is a story that needs to be told, and I’m glad to have been a part of telling it,” Thompson said. “The Elaine Massacre is a sad part of Arkansas history. To finally get the truth out and to be a part of that has been a thrilling experiences”�� In another research project related to the Elaine Massacre, Mitchell and his students uncovered the story of Leroy Johnston, a World War I veteran who was killed with three of his brothers during the Elaine Massacre. Mitchell’s research discovered that Johnston’s medical records from World War I were altered, preventing him from receiving the military honors he deserved. Mitchell brought Johnston’s story to the attention of U.S. Rep. French Hill who worked on correcting the record. In November 2018, Johnston was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Sheila Walker thanks Dr. Brian Mitchell while being honored as a descendant of the Elaine 12. Photo by Ben Krain.

“This is a momentous occasion where we honor the lives and legacy of the Elaine 12 and the other victims of that dark moment in Arkansas’s history,” Hill said. “However, history teaches us that indeed we can learn from our past and together build a better society. We wouldn’t be here if not for the work of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and Brian Mitchell and the extraordinary work the university has done on behalf of the Elaine Massacre.”�� Following the ceremony, the new markers were unveiled on the north sidewalk of President Clinton Avenue between Cumberland Street and Rock Street. Second Presbyterian Church helped fund the markers with a $4,000 grant from the church’s Social Justice Advocacy Committee. East-Harding Construction has partnered with the university for the past 11 years to provide materials for the trail markers and install them.�� Little Rock Mayor and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Alumnus Frank Scott, who gave closing remarks, said we must learn from the mistakes of the past to ensure that events like the Elaine Massacre are never repeated.�� “We understand the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail acknowledges the past and commemorates trailblazers,” Scott said. “It honors our past but also acknowledges the horror. We thank our ancestors for what they have done. We acknowledge them, we respect them, but we give our firm commitment that it will never happen again.”�� The Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail was founded by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity in 2011 to acknowledge the sacrifices and achievements made by those who fought for racial and ethnic justice in Arkansas. Last year, the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail was named a part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.�� The trail begins in front of the Old State House Convention Center on Markham Street and will eventually extend to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park. Each honoree’s name is commemorated with a 12-inch bronze marker on the trail and a biography on the trail’s website.��

Civil Rights Heritage Trail Induction Ceremony to Honor Elaine 12

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 01 Nov 2019 19:17:53 +0000

The 12 exonerated defendants from the 1919 Elaine Massacre will become a permanent part of the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail on Nov. 5. Markers commemorating each of them will be unveiled at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s annual Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail Induction Ceremony at 10 a.m. Nov. 5 at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown, 333 President Clinton Ave.�� Speakers at the ceremony will include ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale; U.S. Congressman French Hill; Lenora Marshall, a member of the Elaine Quorum Court, Kwami Abdul-Bey, co-convenor of the Arkansas Peace and Justice Memorial Movement; and Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott. Dr. Brian Mitchell, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock assistant history professor, and his students will read the names and birth and death places of the Elaine 12 defendants. Dr. Mitchell and his students have done extensive research on the Elaine Massacre. This year’s event will honor the Elaine 12, a group of black sharecroppers in Phillips County who were wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death by all-white juries in the wave of quick, unjust criminal prosecutions of black people that followed the Elaine Massacre of 1919. This is the 100th commemorative year of the Elaine Massacre. The Elaine 12 include Alfred Banks, Ed Coleman, Joe Fox, Albert Giles, Paul Hall, Ed Hicks, Frank Hicks, Joe Knox, John Martin, Frank Moore, Ed Ware, and William Wordlaw. Two of the men are known to be buried in Arkansas. Frank Moore, a World War I veteran, is buried in the National Cemetery in Little Rock, while Joe Knox also is buried in Arkansas at the Haven of Rest Cemetery in Little Rock.�� The convictions of six of the Elaine 12 were overturned in the landmark Supreme Court ruling, Moore vs. Dempsey, in 1923. Following their release from prison, most members of the Elaine 12 fled the state and changed their names. Many of them lived the rest of their lives in exile, fearing for their safety, with their family members never knowing what happened to them. The Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail was created by the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity in 2011 to acknowledge the sacrifices and achievements made by those who fought for racial and ethnic justice in Arkansas. Last year, the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail was named a part of the. The trail begins in front of the Old State House Convention Center on Markham Street and will eventually extend to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park. Each honoree’s name is commemorated with a 12-inch bronze marker on the trail and a biography on the trail’s website.�� This year’s markers will be installed on the north sidewalk of President Clinton Avenue between Cumberland Street and Rock Street.�� Since the trail’s inception in 2011, East-Harding Construction has partnered with the university to install each year’s markers along the trail.�� East-Harding has provided the labor and supplies for the installation, representing a key role in the trail’s development and expansion.�� New markers are added to the trail each year in a public ceremony that also recognizes civil rights activities of the past and those who work for racial equality today. The ceremonies have honored sit-ins and freedom rides, the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, the desegregation of downtown Little Rock, the efforts of professionals in the areas of medicine and healthcare, politics and law, and economic advancement, as well as Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller.

Grant will support purchase of Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail markers to honor Elaine 12

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 13:49:51 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity received a $4,000 grant from Second Presbyterian Church of Little Rock’s Social Justice Advocacy Committee toward the purchase of markers for the 2019 Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail.�� This year’s event will honor the Elaine 12, a group of black sharecroppers who were convicted of murder and sentenced to death by all-white juries in the wave of quick, unjust criminal prosecutions of black people that followed the Elaine Massacre of 1919. The convictions of six of the Elaine 12 were overturned in the landmark Supreme Court ruling, Moore vs. Dempsey, in 1923. Following their release from prison, most members of the Elaine 12 fled the state and changed their names. Many of them lived the rest of their lives in exile, fearing for their safety, with their family members never knowing what happened to them. The markers will be unveiled at a ceremony in the fall as part of a conference at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Elaine Massacre. The Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail was created by the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity in 2011 to acknowledge the sacrifices and achievements made by those who fought for racial and ethnic justice in Arkansas. The trail begins in front of the Old State House Convention Center on Markham Street and will eventually extend to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park. Each honoree’s name is commemorated with a 12-inch bronze marker on the trail and a biography on the trail’s website. New markers are added to the trail each year in a public ceremony that also recognizes civil rights activities of the past and those who work for racial equality today. The ceremonies have honored sit-ins and freedom rides, the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, the desegregation of downtown Little Rock, the efforts of professionals in the areas of medicine and healthcare, politics and law, and economic advancement, as well as Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller. Last year, the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail was named a part of the.

Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail joins new U.S. Civil Rights Trail

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 23 May 2018 15:37:50 +0000

The Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail, a project of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, has been named a part of the new.�� “I think it is great that we were ahead of the curve by about seven years and that the rest of the country has finally caught up with us,” said Dr. John Kirk, director of the Anderson Institute. “We are delighted that the people on the trail will be recognized nationally.” The U.S. Civil Rights Trail is a collection of churches, courthouses, schools, museums, and other landmarks, primarily in the Southern states, where activists challenged segregation in the 1950s and 1960s to advance social justice. After former National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis encouraged historians to identify surviving landmarks where major events of the civil rights era occurred, Georgia State University found 60 sites. Southern state tourism directors added more than 40 secondary sites. The trail, which includes more than 100 attractions across 14 states, debuted on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which was also the 155th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Places where activists successfully sought equal access to public education, public transportation and voting rights comprise many of the locations grouped under the theme “What happened here changed the world.”��

Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail. Photo by Lonnie Timmons/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

Established in the summer of 2011, the honors those who made significant contributions to civil rights in Arkansas. The trail raises public awareness of the long and rich legacy of Arkansas’s civil rights history. “The purpose of the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail is to remind people of the long and wide history of civil rights in Arkansas, and that it is more than just about the 1957 desegregation of Central High School,” Kirk said. “We wanted to bring attention to the events and people who encouraged civil rights before, during and after the events at Central High.” The trail begins in front of the Old State House Convention Center on Markham Street and will eventually extend to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park. Each honoree’s name is commemorated with a 12-inch bronze marker on the trail and a biography on the trail’s website. New markers are added to the trail each year in a public ceremony that also recognizes civil rights activities of the past and those who work for racial equality today. The ceremonies have honored sit-ins and freedom rides, the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, the desegregation of downtown Little Rock, and the efforts of professionals in the areas of medicine and healthcare, politics and law, and economic advancement. The 2018 theme honored Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, who in 1967 became Arkansas’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction. While in office, Rockefeller appointed a number of African Americans to state commissions and departments for the first time. “We will keep going until we run out of space,” Kirk said. “There are still plenty of little known events, organizations ��and people whose names need to be known and whose stories need to be told.”

Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, nine others inducted into Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 21:27:40 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity��honored the legacy of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller and nine other individuals at the 2018 induction of the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail honorees.�� Established in the summer of 2011, the honors those who made significant contributions to civil rights in Arkansas. The trail raises public awareness of the long and rich legacy of Arkansas’s civil rights history. This year’s theme is “Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller.” The Anderson Institute inducted the new honorees Wednesday, April 4, on the steps of the state Capitol. The ceremony was held in partnership with the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. John Kirk, director of the Anderson Institute and George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, is writing the first full-length biography on Rockefeller. His book will be the first to extensively explore the Rockefeller papers housed at the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture. Rockefeller was inaugurated as governor of Arkansas in 1967, becoming the first Republican governor of the state since Reconstruction. Rockefeller’s election victory depended heavily on black votes against his segregationist opponent James D. Johnson. Rockefeller’s family background and upbringing nurtured a lifelong commitment to pursuing fairer treatment of African Americans. While in office, Rockefeller appointed a number of African Americans to state commissions and departments for the first time. In 1968, Rockefeller was the only governor in the Southern states to hold a memorial service in remembrance of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. after his assassination on April 4, 1968. Rockefeller ran for a third term as governor in 1970 but was defeated by Democrat Dale Bumpers. Rockefeller died in 1973. His legacy lives on today through the work of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, and Winrock International. A 12-inch bronze marker will be placed on the trail for each honoree. The trail begins in front of the Old State House Convention Center on Markham Street and will eventually extend to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park and other points throughout the downtown corridor. For more details, please contact the Anderson Institute at 569-8932 or race-ethnicity@ualr.edu. The honorees include: Elijah Coleman was appointed to the Arkansas State University Board of Trustees by Rockefeller in September 1970 and was the first African American to serve on the board. Coleman became principal of Townsend Park High School in Pine Bluff and was later elected president of the Arkansas Teachers Association. William Louis “Buck” Currie Jr. was appointed to the Arkansas Penitentiary Board by Rockefeller in January 1968 and was the first African American to serve on the board. His vision was to establish a vocational education program within state prisons to offer the inmates an opportunity to become productive members of society upon release. Reverend M. L. Hendricks was the first African American appointed to the Arkansas State Police Commission by Rockefeller in February 1968. The appointment followed criticism over the scarcity of African-American state troopers in Arkansas. At the time of his nomination,. Hendricks was the presiding elder of the Little Rock District CME Church, and he had been active in the Urban League of Greater Little Rock and in the NAACP. Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton was the first African-American student to attend every grade at Little Rock Central High School after its desegregation. After teaching at many universities throughout the United States, Hampton returned to Arkansas in 1996 to become the executive director of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, a position that she held until her retirement in 2006. In 2014, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel appointed Hampton to the state Ethics Commission. James “Jimmy” Hudson, who began working for Rockefeller in 1937, served as general superintendent of his Winrock Farms project on Petit Jean Mountain, contravening the segregated racial hierarchy that existed in the state. When Rockefeller founded the Rockwin Fund (today the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation) in 1956, he named Hudson as one of its founding trustees, ensuring that the fund would be integrated from the very outset. In 1960, Hudson left Arkansas to accept a position with Nelson A. Rockefeller’s New York State Labor Commission. Annie R. Zachary Pike was appointed to the Arkansas Board of Public Welfare by Rockefeller in April 1967, a position that she held until 1985. At the time of her nomination, Pike was the president of the Marvell District 22 Parent-Teachers Association. Minnie Pearl Ross was appointed as junior auditor to the State Income Tax Division of the Arkansas Revenue Department by Rockefeller in September 1967. In the following year, she became the first African-American woman to serve on the Republican State Committee. The Reverend Doctor Emery Washington was appointed to the Arkansas Board of Education by Rockefeller in March 1969. At the time of his nomination, Washington was director of the Christ Church Episcopal kindergarten and nursery in Forrest City. He was also chairman of world relief for the Episcopal Diocese and a board member of the Diocese Executive Council. Washington stated that his main concern as an educator was for every child to receive a quality education. Austine White Williams was the first African American appointed to the Arkansas Board of Cosmetology by Rockefeller in January 1967. Williams had served as an inspector for the board between 1950 and 1956 and was an instructor in cosmetology at the Arkansas School for the Deaf at the time of her nomination.

Joel Anderson returns to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock as Scholar in Residence

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 18:45:01 +0000

This fall, the faculty, staff, and students of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will see a familiar face on campus. Chancellor Emeritus Dr. Joel Anderson, who retired in June 2016 following a 45-year career at the university, has returned to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to work as a part-time Scholar in Residence at the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity. “I should say that I don’t intend to give up the joys of retirement,” said Anderson, who has spent his first year catching up on reading the newspaper, traveling with his wife, Ann, and visiting his three sons and five grandchildren. “Racial and ethnic justice has been a concern of mine for a long time,” he said. “If by working in the Institute on Race and Ethnicity I could make a contribution on that front, I would like to do so.” While volunteering at the institute which bears his name, Anderson will focus on development and grant writing and will work on community outreach programs. These programs include the Racial Attitudes in Pulaski County Conference and the. “We are delighted to welcome back Dr. Anderson to campus as our Scholar in Residence, not least since the Anderson Institute is his creation and his legacy,” said Dr. John Kirk, director of the Institute on Race and Ethnicity. “Dr. Anderson’s community standing and passion for issues of race and ethnicity make him the perfect ambassador for the institute.” Anderson plans to mentor a group working with the institute. “I want to have a regular discussion meeting with a set group of students on various issues of race and ethnicity,” he said. “Before launching such a project, I want to get students involved in choosing the focus and shaping the approach. Conversations become more comfortable and honest when people get to know and trust each other.” Anderson became interested in the Civil Rights Movement as a college student at Harding University in Searcy, which was segregated during the time Anderson attended in the early 1960s. “Despite the official position of the administration, there were a few faculty members that quietly and privately would say segregation is not right,” he said. “That got my attention.” During his tenure as chancellor, Anderson created the Chancellor’s Committee on Race and Ethnicity in 2006. Out of the committee’s work, the Institute on Race and Ethnicity was created in 2011 to work with Arkansas communities to end racial and ethnic injustice.

Chancellor Emeritus Dr. Joel Anderson is working as a Scholar in Residence at the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III/��Vlog��ý Little Rock.

“That group recognized that race was the No. 1 issue in Arkansas,” Anderson said. “It’s the major issue that inhibits progress in the community and the state. The issues that are related to race and ethnicity are not going to just disappear.” In 2016, the institute was renamed after Anderson to honor his “pivotal role in pursuing racial and ethnic justice in Arkansas.” In 2016, the Arkansas Historical Association honored the institute for its work. The institute received the Diamond Award for the in recognition of excellence in public history engagement. It also received an award of merit for the Arkansas Civil Rights History Tour App created with the city of Little Rock. The app offers residents and visitors a new way to explore the city’s rich civil rights history. Anderson is glad to return to campus. “Besides seeing old friends and making new ones, few places are as stimulating and full of interesting people as a university campus,” he said. “When you retire, you find yourself interacting mostly with people your own age. I love the wisdom of the old, but I miss hearing those younger voices.”

Ebony and Jet founder John Harold Johnson honored at Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 19:18:05 +0000

John Harold Johnson, founder of Ebony and Jet magazines, has been recognized for his achievements in advancing economic opportunities for African Americans in the United States.�� A plaque bearing Johnson’s name was installed in the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail in Johnson’s hometown state on Feb. 1. Established in the summer of 2011, the honors those who made significant contributions to civil rights in Arkansas. The trail raises public awareness of the long and rich legacy of Arkansas’s civil rights histor “John Harold Johnson is one of the most successful black entrepreneurs that Arkansas has produced, moving from modest origins in Arkansas City to building the largest black publishing company in the United States with instantly recognized titles such as Jet and Ebony,” said Dr. John Kirk, director of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Anderson Institute for Race and Ethnicity. Johnson was represented at the ceremony by Janis Kearney, a writer and presidential diarist for President Bill Clinton, and former managing editor of the Arkansas State Press. This year’s event recognized 10 Arkansans who made great strides in economic advancement. “In times when African Americans were often treated as second-class citizens and faced many obstacles, economic advancement was in itself a defiant protest against white supremacy and a refusal against the odds to surrender to pervasive racial discrimination,” Kirk said. Johnson was born in Arkansas City, Arkansas, in 1918. After moving to Chicago in 1942, Johnson obtained a loan that allowed him to publish the first issue of the Negro Digest. Together with Jet and Ebony, the Negro Digest became part of the Johnson Publishing Company, the largest African-American owned and operated publishing company in the United States. In 1982, Johnson became the first African American to appear on the Forbes 400, a list of the wealthiest Americans based on net worth. He received numerous awards for his achievements, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Clinton. The Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail event was held in partnership with the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, and the Clinton School of Public Service. For more details, contact the Anderson Institute at 569-8932 or race-ethnicity@ualr.edu.

Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail honorees remembered for strides in economic advancement

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 15:23:09 +0000

Angela Walker fondly remembers her grandfather, William “Sonny” Walker, was her family’s “personal hero.”�� “He was a great man,” said Angela Walker, an early childhood education master’s student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “He was always a gentleman you could talk to about anything. He made a big impact on our community.” Sonny Walker, former head of the Arkansas Office of Economic Opportunity, was one of 10 people whose names were added to the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail Feb. 1 near the Ron Robinson Theater in downtown Little Rock. Established in the summer of 2011, the Civil Rights Heritage Trail honors those who made significant contributions to civil rights in Arkansas. The trail raises public awareness of the long and rich legacy of Arkansas’s civil rights history. This year’s event recognized African Americans who made great strides in economic advancement. “In times when African Americans were often treated as second-class citizens and faced many obstacles, economic advancement was in itself a defiant protest against white supremacy and a refusal against the odds to surrender to pervasive racial discrimination,” said John Kirk, director of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity. Gov. Asa Hutchinson stated that the fight for civil rights is not something that belongs solely to previous generations. “It is a battle each generation must engage in,” Hutchinson said. “Emphasizing the importance of our Civil Rights history is important for each generation of Arkansans.” The ceremony brought mixed emotions for Angela Walker. Her grandfather would have been proud to receive such an honor, but she was sad he could not attend the ceremony himself. He passed away June 14, 2016. “He would have loved this,” she said. “He deserved it, but he was a very humble man.” A Pine Bluff native and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumnus, Sonny Walker became the first African American to head a state economic opportunity office in the South, a position that Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller appointed him to in 1969. Walker also became the first African American cabinet member of a southern governor. Walker moved to Atlanta in 1972 when President Richard Nixon appointed him regional director of the Office of Economic Opportunity. He later served as director and chief operating officer for the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and as a speechwriter for King’s widow Coretta Scott King.

John Kirk, director of the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, announced 10 names to be added to the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail during a program at the Ron Robinson Theater on Feb. 1. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III.

During the Feb. 1 event, a 12-inch bronze marker was placed on the trail for each honoree. The trail begins in front of the Old State House Convention Center on Markham Street and will eventually extend to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park and other points throughout the downtown corridor. The markers for this year’s honorees were installed at the corner of LaHarpe Boulevard and President Clinton Avenue. During the ceremony, the Dunbar Magnet Middle School Singers, Tonya Leeks, and David Ashley performed live music from the Civil Rights era. The event was held in partnership with the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, and the Clinton School of Public Service. Other 2017 honorees include:

��William Wallace Andrews, a prominent African American leader and entrepreneur in Little Rock before and after the Civil War
��Scott Winfield Bond, a successful landowner, farmer and businessman in the Arkansas Delta and one of Arkansas’s wealthiest African Americans during the period before the New Deal in the 1930s
��John Edward Bush, co-founder of the Mosaic Templars of America, a fraternal organization that expanded to 26 states and six foreign countries between the 1880s and 1930s. He was also chair of the Arkansas Republican Party.
��Robert Lee Hill, founder of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America, which organized in the Arkansas Delta to gain fair wages for sharecroppers after World War I
��John Harold Johnson, who built the largest African American publishing company in the world, producing titles such as Ebony and Jet magazines
��Walter “Wiley” Jones, one of the wealthiest African Americans in the South from his various business endeavors in late 19th century Pine Bluff
��Chester W. Keatts, co-founder of the Mosaic Templars of America, a fraternal organization that expanded to 26 states and six foreign countries between the 1880s and 1930s
��Josephine Irvin Harris Pankey, a successful real estate developer who accumulated large tracts of land in West Little Rock during the age of segregation
��Sue Cowan Williams, an English teacher at Dunbar High School who successfully sued the school district for equal pay with white teachers during the 1940s

For more details, please contact the Anderson Institute at 569-8932 or race-ethnicity@ualr.edu. In the upper right photo,��Gov. Asa Hutchinson gives the introduction to the induction ceremony for the 2017 Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail honorees. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III.��

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