/news-archive/tag/arkansas-house-of-representatives/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Tue, 15 Feb 2022 14:34:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2022/02/15/william-townsend-exhibit/ Tue, 15 Feb 2022 14:34:34 +0000 /news/?p=81011 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture Launches Online Exhibit Commemorating Arkansas鈥檚 First African American Optometrist]]> 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, 鈥淒r. William H. Townsend: Optometrist, Civil Rights Leader, State Representative,鈥� follows Townsend鈥檚 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. 鈥淒r. Townsend has a prominent role in politics and the professions in Arkansas,鈥� said Dr. Deborah Baldwin, CAHC director and principal investigator on the grant. 鈥淗e 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.鈥� 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, all contributed to the project.]]> /news-archive/2021/09/07/grant-commemorate-william-townsend/ Tue, 07 Sep 2021 15:23:48 +0000 /news/?p=78886 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock receives grant to commemorate history of Arkansas civil rights leader William Townsend]]> 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鈥檚 African American history and culture. The $3,799 grant for the project, 鈥淓xploring Cultural and Political Spheres: Dr. William H. Townsend, Arkansas Professional and Civil Rights Leader,鈥� will fund the center鈥檚 efforts to digitize Townsend鈥檚 papers and create a character collection and social media posts highlighting the Townsend papers. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Downtown will also host an exhibit on Townsend in February 2022 to celebrate Black History Month. 鈥淒r. Townsend has a prominent role in politics and the professions in Arkansas,鈥� said Dr. Deborah Baldwin, CAHC director and principal investigator on the grant. 鈥淗e 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.鈥� 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 Voter Education Project. In 1972, Townsend was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives for the first of 12 terms.]]> /news-archive/2021/02/01/professor-helps-pass-bill/ Mon, 01 Feb 2021 19:04:00 +0000 /news/?p=78239 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock professor helps pass bill to honor Civil Rights Attorney Scipio Jones]]> A University of Arkansas at Little Rock history professor helped U.S. Rep. French Hill in his effort to pass legislation to honor Arkansas lawyer Scipio A. Jones.聽 Bill H.R. 3317, the Scipio Jones Post Office Portrait Act, was signed into law in December 2020. This achievement is the result of a collaboration between Dr. Brian Mitchell, assistant professor of history at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, and Little Rock attorney John Gill. 鈥�Here in Arkansas, we are deeply proud of Scipio Jones and his important contributions to our state, and to our nation, as a civil rights icon and lawyer. In the wake of the Elaine Race Massacre in 1919, Mr. Jones bravely and successfully defended twelve African American sharecroppers who had been wrongfully charged in connection to a crime they didn鈥檛 commit and placed on death row,鈥� Rep. Hill said. 鈥淚 am pleased that my bill, the Scipio Jones Post Office Portrait Act, finally has been signed into law to allow current and future generations to appreciate fully Mr. Jones鈥檚 critical role in shaping Arkansas鈥檚 history and the fight for equality. I am grateful to Sen. Boozman and Sen. Cotton for their partnership on the Senate version of this bill, my colleagues in the House and Senate for supporting this legislation, and President Trump for signing this bill into law. I also thank John Gill and Dr. Brian Mitchell for the many hours they spent helping with this project.鈥� Rep. Hill鈥檚 office reached out to Mitchell in 2019 to learn more about his research into the Elaine Massacre and Jones. 鈥淭he Congressman had a great appreciation for the legal maneuvering and the skill employed by Scipio Jones in saving the lives of the sharecroppers from death row,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淛ones’ tactic of employing the 14th Amendment as a defense against attacks on civil rights will become the leading tactic in the modern Civil Rights Movement.鈥� Jones, who was born to an enslaved person in 1863, attended Walden Seminary (now Philander Smith College) and then attended Bethel Institute (now Shorter College), earning his bachelor鈥檚 degree in 1885. In 1889, Jones passed the bar and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Arkansas in 1900 and by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1905. After the Elaine Massacre of 1919, he defended 12 wrongly accused Black men, the Elaine 12, who had been charged with murder and condemned to death by all-white juries. With his clients already facing execution, Jones fought their convictions in both state and federal courts. An appeal was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that the accused had been denied due process of law. After reviewing the case, the Supreme Court agreed and overturned the convictions. Moore v. Dempsey changed the nature of the Fourteenth Amendment鈥檚 due process clause. The ruling allowed for federal courts to hear and examine evidence in state criminal cases to ensure that the defendants鈥� constitutional rights were protected. It was a landmark ruling that sought to ensure that those accused of a crime had received due process. The Arkansas House of Representatives passed legislation to name the post office located at 1700 Main St. in Little Rock after Jones. A plaque at the post office bears Jones鈥� name, but post office regulations restrict the items that can be placed on display, including a portrait of the post office鈥檚 namesake. 鈥淪oon after having the idea to include a portrait of Scipio Jones in the Scipio A. Jones Post Office in Little Rock, I discovered that this gesture would take an act of Congress to accomplish 鈥� literally,鈥� Gill said. 鈥淭hankfully, Rep. Hill enthusiastically endorsed this idea and worked with his colleagues in Washington to pass the required legislation. I am thrilled that this bill has been signed into law, and I hope this portrait will inspire our citizens and young Arkansans to follow in Mr. Jones鈥檚 footsteps.鈥� Rep. Hill introduced legislation to allow a full-sized portrait of Jones to be on display at the post office that bears his name. Funds for the portrait will be raised privately, and no taxpayer money will be spent on the artwork. The legislation passed the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Dec. 19, 2019, passed the full House on Feb. 5, 2020, and passed the Senate on Nov. 18, 2020. 鈥淚n his lifetime, Scipio A. Jones was one of the nation’s best-known African American lawyers,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淗is name and importance later fell into obscurity in the African-American community. Congressman Hill wanted to recognize the accomplishments of Jones and wanted to assure that in a post office dedicated to Jones, that Jones’ image and deeds would never be forgotten.鈥� Mitchell and Hill have worked together in recent years to honor black World War I soldiers whose history has been overlooked. In 2018, the duo worked together to obtain a Purple Heart and other medals for the family of Pvt. Leroy Johnston, a World War I veteran who was killed in the Elaine Massacre with his three brothers just months after coming home from the war. Johnston earned several military honors for his service to his country, but did not receive them at the time of his discharge or death due to racial discrimination.]]> /news-archive/2019/02/18/7th-annual-hoops-for-kids-sake/ Mon, 18 Feb 2019 17:55:16 +0000 /news/?p=73429 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to host 7th annual Hoops for Kids Sake]]> The Arkansas House and the Arkansas Senate will battle it out 鈥� not in the legislative chambers 鈥� but on the basketball court at the Jack Stephens Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to raise money for a good cause. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little will host the seventh annual Hoops for Kids Sake, a charity basketball game, at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25. The series is tied at 3-3 between the House and the Senate, with the Senate having won three years in a row. Celebrity players, coaches, and special guests will be on hand for the bipartisan exhibition game, which has raised more nearly $200,000 since its inception in 2013. General admission tickets are $10 and will be available at the door. All proceeds will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas (BBBSCA), Boys & Girls Club of Bryant and Boys & Girls Club of Saline County. A VIP Reception, with catering from Gina’s Catering, will start at 6 p.m. with tip-off at 7 p.m. Member from both Boys & Girls Clubs are coordinating a fun cheer for the crowd during half-time. For more information, contact Matt Cramblett at matt.cramblett@yahoo.com or 501-207-2259.]]> /news-archive/2017/02/07/ua-little-rock-legislative-charity-basketball-game/ Tue, 07 Feb 2017 16:37:38 +0000 /news/?p=66246 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to host legislative charity basketball game]]> Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives and Arkansas Senate will square off in the legislative charity basketball game to raise money for,, and. Celebrity players, coaches, and special guests will be on hand for the bipartisan exhibition game, which has raised more than $110,000 since its inception in 2013. 鈥淭he opportunity to support these kids is something that always gets the Senate players excited to play hard,鈥� Senate President Pro Tempore Jonathan Dismang said in a news release. 鈥淎nd as defending champs for the first time ever, we have an additional incentive as we fight to keep the trophy on the south side of the Capitol for another year.” However, the team representing the Arkansas House of Representatives, three-time champions of Hoops for Kids Sake, has plans for a big win that will bring the trophy back to the House. “But as much as we enjoy beating the Senate, we know the biggest victory is raising money for these organizations that do so much for our youth,鈥� Arkansas House Speaker Jeremy Gillam said in a news release. General admission tickets are $10 and will be available at the Jack Stephens Center one hour before the game begins. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Sponsorships are also available for $1,000. For sponsorship information, please contact Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas Development Director Calista Kersh at ckersh@bbbsca.org or 501.374.6661. Checks should be made payable to BBBSCA and mailed to 312 W. Pershing Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72114.]]>