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

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.

Elaine Massacre victim to posthumously receive Purple Heart Nov. 16 ��for WWI service

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 17:06:38 +0000

Research by University of Arkansas at Little Rock Professor Dr. Brian Mitchell was instrumental to the awarding of a posthumous Purple Heart to a black veteran from Pine Bluff. The family of the late Pvt. Leroy Johnston, one of four brothers who was tragically killed during the 1919 Elaine Massacre, will accept the Purple Heart��during a ceremony on Friday, Nov. 16. Johnston��is being honored for severe wounds he sustained while serving in World War I.�� Hosted by the Delta Cultural Center in Helena-West Helena, the honors will take place at Beth El Heritage Hall, 406 Perry St., at 1 p.m. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony. Local, state, and federal elected officials are expected to attend. The public is also invited to come and pay tribute to this Delta-born war hero. Family members will accept the Purple Heart on behalf of Pvt. Leroy Johnston, a native of Pine Bluff who enlisted in the military at 23 while living in New York City. In addition to the Purple Heart, Johnston will also receive the WWI Victory Medal with France’s Service Clasp and Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, and Meuse-Argonne Battle Clasps, and the WWI Victory Button. Johnston served in Company M, 3rd Battalion, 369th Infantry, a highly decorated regiment also known as the “Harlem Hellfighters.” The “Harlem Hellfighters’’ military band, in which Johnston was a bugler, became quite famous for introducing jazz to Europe.

Dr. Brian Mitchell

As was often the case for black soldiers during that time, Johnston’s service records were intentionally altered after he sustained combat injuries. This deception was uncovered by Dr. Mitchell, a professor of history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Leroy was wounded twice while serving in World War I,” Mitchell explained. “His records were altered from ‘severely’ wounded to ‘slightly’ wounded. This alteration prevented him from receiving any awards for being wounded in action.” Nevertheless, Johnston was honorably discharged from military service on July 5, 1919. Johnston returned to the U.S. making Helena his new home. It was in the fall of that same year, he and his three brothers were killed during the Elaine Massacre, though they had nothing to do with the conflict. That September, the bodies of Johnston and his brothers were found mutilated and dumped on the side of the road. Though Johnston was injured in the war on Sept. 26, 1918, it wasn’t until Mitchell’s in-depth investigation into the Elaine Massacre that he uncovered this tragic aspect of Johnston’s military life. Determined to right this injustice, Mitchell submitted the information to the U.S. Department of the Army requesting that Johnston be awarded the appropriate medals for his WWI service. Mitchell then contacted U.S. Rep. French Hill’s office in Little Rock for assistance. Rep. Hill and his staff members, especially Thomas McNabb, Hill’s director of military affairs, were instrumental in ensuring that Johnston finally receive his long overdue medals. For more information about the ceremony, contact Dr. Kyle Miller, director of the Delta Cultural Center, at 870-338-4350 or kyle.miller@arkansas.gov. The shares the vision of all eight agencies within the Department of Arkansas Heritage—to preserve and promote Arkansas Heritage as a source of pride and satisfaction. The other divisions of the department are the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Arkansas Arts Council, the Natural Heritage Commission and the Arkansas State Archives. In the upper right photos,��Leroy Johnston (right) is shown with two of his brothers, Drs. D.A.E. (left) and L.H. (center) Johnston. Submitted photo.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professor visits Capitol Hill

Janea Snyder — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 19:30:02 +0000

Dr. Srikanth B. Pidugu, chair of the Department of Engineering Technology at University of Arkansas at Little Rock and program coordinator for the Mechanical Engineering Technology program, recently visited with legislators to advocate for engineering technology education while attending the Engineering Technology Leadership Institute Oct. 11-12 in Arlington, Va. The is a part of the (ASEE), which serves as the networking center among engineering colleges. Pidugu, who serves as the ASEE’s campus representative at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, teaches Fluid Power and Mechanics, Applied Thermal Sciences, Thermal System Design, and Computer Aided Design at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. He received a Lockheed Martin grant to participate in the event and promote engineering technology education. “One of the important things we did was to visit legislators to advocate for engineering technology education and share our concerns,” Pidugu said. “The broader goal was to potentially help influence policy and expand the awareness of engineering technology programs and our graduates.” Pidugu was teamed with three other professors who met with the staffs of three senators and three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Pidugu took the lead when the group met with U.S.��Rep. French Hill’s legislative assistant, Lesley Hill. “We used the opportunity to educate them about engineering technology programs and educational concerns from the educators’ point of view,” he said. In the top right photo, Dr. Srikanth B. Pidugu, chair of the Department of Engineering Technology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, stands outside U.S. Rep. French Hill’s office in Washington, D.C.

International delegation to discuss public health in Ukraine

Janea Snyder — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 18:01:13 +0000

A group of Ukrainian health professionals who are working to reform their country’s healthcare system will be at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Friday, Sept. 14, to speak on “Public Health in Ukraine.” The talk will take place from 9-10 a.m. in Dickinson Hall’s sixth-floor conference room and is free and open to the public. Members of the international delegation, which includes four physicians and one lawyer, accompanied by a bicultural facilitator and a bilingual interpreter, are guests of the U.S. Legislature’s and are hosted by , a nonprofit which contracts with the federal government to bring international delegates to Little Rock for professional training. Dr. Janea Snyder, assistant professor in the College of Education and Health Professions, and Heidi Whitman, program officer for Global Ties Arkansas, arranged Friday’s event as a way for local health care students and professionals to connect with the Ukrainian group. The discussion will center on challenges and solutions for public health problems common to all industrialized nations, such as HIV, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Prior to their arrival in Little Rock, the delegates completed an orientation in Washington, D.C. on Capitol Hill and had policy meetings with staff from the offices of Rep. French Hill and Sen. John Boozman. In Little Rock, delegates will collaborate on best practices for drafting effective healthcare policy, providing sufficient services for veterans, reforming primary and emergency care, and introducing medical insurance to citizens. The group also will have professional meetings at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the Eugene J. Tobin Healthcare Center, AFMC, Pulaski County Crisis Stabilization Unit, and Conway Regional Hospital. The delegation is staying in the homes of area residents serving as hospitality hosts, including the home of Jim Carr, associate professor of construction management at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, and his wife, Toni Carr, the executive director of Global Ties Arkansas. Others are staying with Terry Richard, professor emeritus of sociology at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.

U.S. Congressman hosts opioid crisis conversation

Janea Snyder — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 22:17:07 +0000

U.S. Congressman French Hill will be on campus Monday, June 18, to host a conversation about “Opioids in Our Community: Resources and Stories in Central Arkansas.” The event will feature citizens from across Arkansas and the United States to talk about the opioid crisis and what communities and governments on the local, state, and federal level are doing to combat it. The event will be in University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Donaldson Student Services Center auditorium on Monday, June 18, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. “Families across Arkansas and the United States are being torn apart by drug addiction – especially opioid addiction – and a hopelessness that is permanently disrupting lives,” Rep. Hill said. “But there are developments on the local and federal levels that are helping to address the opioid crisis, and I am glad to be able to assemble this panel of practitioners, parents, and others from across our state and nation to address Arkansans directly. This conversation is both timely and urgent.” Featured speakers include Suzanne Kellar McCarty, a parent; Sheila Thrower, Little Rock Central High School nurse; Melinda Kinnison, Arkansas PTA president-elect; Commander Karen Hearod, regional administrator for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; and Kirk Lane, Arkansas Drug director.

Dean Whitman meets with Arkansas lawmakers in Washington

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 18:41:56 +0000

Dr. Lawrence Whitman, dean of the George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Technology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, traveled to Washington, D.C. Feb. 6-8 to meet with members of the Arkansas congressional delegation.�� Whitman was joined by University of Arkansas College of Engineering Dean John English, Arkansas State University College of Engineering Associate Dean Paul Mixon, and Arkansas Technical University College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Dean Neal Barlow. The deans, along with engineering deans from across the country who are members of the Engineering Deans Council of the, heard from U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, who is also an engineer. The group also met with U.S. Sen. John Boozman, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, U.S. Rep. French Hill, and the staff of U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford and U.S. Rep. Steve Womack. During the trip, the group thanked the congressmen for their support of federal research dollars for Arkansas educators and researchers, and described how research impacts the state and country. Whitman pointed out and provided examples as to how that research improves the classes that students take for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The group also discussed upcoming legislation, K-12 education, the federal budget, and federal funding for research and development, Whitman said. In the upper right photo, Dean Whitman and three Arkansas engineering deans meet with U.S. Rep. French Hill. Pictured from left to right are Dean English, Associate Dean Paul Mixon, U.S. Rep. French Hill, Dean Lawrence Whitman, and Dean Neal Barlow.

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