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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Graduate Finishes College Education 50 Years After Starting

John Hill — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 16:20:09 +0000

A ��Vlog��ý Little Rock history student is celebrating the completion of his lifelong dream of finishing his college education, a dream that is 50 years in the making. By all measures, Ellis “Gene” Thompson of Little Rock has led a very successful life. He has a loving family and had a very successful career in media sales spanning more than four decades. “After leaving KATV as the local sales manager here, I finished that career and was faced with what I want to do,” Thompson said. “Something that had always been nagging me was to get my degree. Life had taken that opportunity away from me earlier when I was in Washington, D.C.” A native of Joliet, Illinois, Thompson joined the U.S. Navy and worked in an experimental surgery unit and then enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1973. “T��re I really started to mature and find my sea legs, as you will,” he said. “T�� doctors were very supportive of me going to college. That is why I went to Georgetown, but I was married and had a child and work. I couldn’t sustain a decent lifestyle and go to Georgetown, which was very demanding.” In 1975, Thompson left Georgetown with an associate degree and a strong desire to one day finish his college education. His career took him from Washington, D.C., to Chicago, to Dayton, Ohio, to Orlando and New York City. His final stop brought him to Little Rock in 2010 to work at KATV. “I had a great run in TV, but I’m done,” Thompson said. “I had a deep love of history, and I got that while I was at Georgetown. One of my instructors was the department head, and I fell in love with history after taking her class. I decided to come to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock as a history major.” Thompson joined ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2017 and graduated with his bachelor’s degree in history in 2019. He will graduate this semester with a master’s degree in public history, which brings his journey to complete his college education to an end 50 years after he started. “It’s something that I feel I should have done a long time ago,” he said. “It’s basically been unfinished business as far as my life is concerned. So, getting this degree is a culmination of a lifelong search for my own comfort with myself. It’s a culmination of something that I felt I should have done a long time ago and should have been determined earlier in my life. However, it feels just as good now. This is who I should have been all my life, a person with a master’s degree.” One of his favorite experiences in graduate school was participating in a class taught by Dr. John Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History, which examined the criminal cases of Robert Bell and Grady Swain, two African American teenagers who were convicted of the first-degree murder of Julius McCollum and sentenced to death. Bell and Swain confessed to the crime, but later said their confessions were forced. The class wrote a paper about the case that received the Lucille Westbrook Award from the Arkansas Historical Association for the best article manuscript on an aspect of local history. “That class really grabbed me, and I learned so much about going through archives and dusty, old records,” he said. Thompson wrote his thesis, “T�� Fight for Freedmen’s Minds in Arkansas,” about the development of educational programs for African Americans in the state in the 1860s and 1870s. “Arkansas was one of the last states to develop a public primary and secondary school system for African American students,” Thompson wrote. “While education was for the most part privatized, an important philosophy for educating African Americans was developed early by the Free African Society and the AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Church that influenced Arkansas public and private Freedman education.” In the 1860s and 70s, there were millions of newly freed formerly enslaved people who needed an education with competing methods of how that should work. Samuel Armstrong, founder of the Hampton Institute, created an educational model called the Hampton-Tuskegee Model, which emphasized character building through manual labor and learning occupational skills. The AME church strongly contested the Hampton-Tuskegee Model. “T�� AME church put forth the philosophy that they wanted Freedman taught in the classical manner, emphasizing subjects like English, literature, and algebra,” Thompson said. “T��y wanted to train a middle-class population with doctors, teachers, and lawyers. The Hampton model emphasized teaching people manual labor skills – how to be a blacksmith, how to sew. They taught young girls how to work in houses as maids. It was being put out there that this was necessary because industrialists needed a large workforce.” Thompson dedicated his thesis to his mother, who was the daughter of an AME preacher and an inspiration for him to complete college. “I also did this for my mom who always believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” Thompson said. “She used to sit in the kitchen with me to do my homework when I was a child. She instilled in me that desire to get it done, and that was one of the real drivers in writing my thesis.” With graduation approaching, Thompson is thankful to history professors James Ross, Barclay Key, Jess Porter, Edward Anson, Carl Moneyhon, and Marta Cieslak for inspiring him to succeed. “My experience here has been absolutely magnificent,” he said. “I can’t say enough good things about the history department and the professors. These people are first rate, and I know because I came from one of those fancy east schools. I had a very successful career, but this is something different that I needed to do and I’m so glad I did it. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that I would end up living in Arkansas and getting a master’s degree at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I believe it’s a top-rate education.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Historians Win Lucille Westbrook Award from Arkansas Historical Association��

John Hill — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 13:02:09 +0000

A group of historians from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have won the Lucille Westbrook Award from the for the best article manuscript on an aspect of local Arkansas history. Dr. John Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History, co-wrote the paper with his students in the Seminar in Public History class, a capstone course that focuses on collaborative research for students who are earning a Master of Arts in public history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. The authors will receive their award, which includes a $1,000 prize and a framed certificate, at the annual meeting of the Arkansas Historical Association on April 22. Along with Kirk, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student authors include Kathleen Burell, Brittany Fugate, Christiane Hendricks, Ellis Eugene Thompson, Michael White, and Logan Yancey. The article, “Criminal Justice in the Age of Segregation: Race, Law, and Politics in the Arkansas Cases of Robert Bell and Grady Swain, 1927-1935,” will be published in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly. “It’s amazing to see the work we did last semester pay off,” Fugate said. “We developed this project through every step and now our work is about to be published. It’s a great feeling that I still can’t wrap my head around. The Public History program is one of a kind, and I’m so thankful to the opportunities I’ve had because of this program.” The piece examines the criminal cases of Robert Bell and Grady Swain, two African American teenagers who were convicted of the first-degree murder of Julius McCollum and sentenced to death. Bell and Swain confessed to the crime, but later said their confessions were forced. The Arkansas Supreme Court overturned their conviction, concluding that there was not sufficient evidence to show that McCollum was murdered. “This is a complicated case,” Kirk said. “T��y were two African American youths who were implicated in the death of a young white boy in 1927 in Greasy Corner, Arkansas. They survived a lynch mob only to be taken into custody where they were whipped to force a confession. The whole episode takes us step-by-step through the criminal justice system in the age of segregation.” Bell’s and Swain’s cases continued with many twists and turns. Both were retried after the original conviction was overturned. They both received legal assistance from local attorneys and the NAACP. They eventually took a plea deal with a lighter sentence and the promise of early release through parole, a deal that was subsequently not recognized by the parole board. They were finally released after spending seven years in prison when Gov. Junius Futrell granted them clemency. “Surviving the lynch mob was just the first hurdle,” Kirk said. “What we see with Bell and Swain is two young people who managed to surmount many of the obstacles in Arkansas’s criminal justice system and, against all odds, gain release. It illustrates just how difficult it was for African Americans to escape that system once they were trapped in it.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Selects Silverstein, Siraj, Kirk as 2022 Faculty Excellence Award Winners

John Hill — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 00:19:22 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has chosen Joshua Silverstein, Noureen Siraj, and John Kirk as the 2022 winners of the Faculty Excellence Awards. Silverstein, a professor at the William H. Bowen School of Law, has won the Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching. He has gained a reputation among students and colleagues as a stellar educator who goes to great lengths to ensure the success of his students. Siraj, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, has received the Faculty Excellence Award in Research and Creative Endeavors. With her research being cited more than 700 times since 2016, Siraj is a well-respected researcher in the development of nanomaterials for biomedical applications and solar cell applications. Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History, has been awarded the Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service. Ever since Kirk arrived at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock 11 years ago, his extensive service and research has been dedicated to unveiling the history of the Arkansas fight for civil rights against the brutality of racial injustice. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock annually celebrates the achievements of the top professors of the year who are making a difference in the community through their contributions in teaching, research and creative works, and public service. This is the highest honor ��Vlog��ý Little Rock awards its faculty members. “Our faculty excellence winners represent the university’s commitment to superb instruction, outstanding research, and community service,” Provost Ann Bain said. “Each of the winners has made immeasurable contributions to the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock community and to the lives of their students and colleagues. We thank them for their service.” Created in 1989, the Faculty Excellence Awards has provided a way to recognize the great work of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty for the past 33 years and is made possible through the valued contributions of the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor’s Circle, and the Bailey Foundation. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Visitors selected the university-wide winners from the 12 faculty members who were selected as the top faculty members for the 2021-22 academic year in each of the three categories in their respective colleges and the William H. Bowen School of Law.

Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching

Silverstein’s students and colleagues describe him as a stellar educator with a wealth of knowledge and genuine interest in guiding students effectively throughout their studies. Tori Percifield, a former student, described Silverstein as “quite simply the best teacher I have ever had.” His strengths as a teacher include “immeasurable enthusiasm, meticulous organization, limitless knowledge, and genuine compassion for the students.” Those traits are repeated in former students’ letters of endorsement. They discuss Silverstein’s passion for teaching, his engaging presentation of complex topics, and his commitment to ensuring they fully comprehend the material, including his extensive use of visual aids. Michael Hunter Schwartz, former dean of the William H. Bowen School of Law, described Silverstein’s student evaluations as “the highest I have ever seen for any Bowen faculty member.” In 2021, Silverstein was chosen by Bowen students as the first law school recipient of the We HEART Faculty Award. This is the second time he has been recognized for excellence in teaching. Silverstein received a J.D. from the New York University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

Faculty Excellence Award in Research and Creative Endeavors

Siraj has developed a reputation as a prolific researcher in the development of nanomaterials for biomedical applications and solar cell applications. In the past five years, she has received more than $570,000 in funding from federal, state, and local agencies, including a nearly $190,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for the “Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of FRET based Ionic Materials.” Over the past five years, Siraj has published 34 peer-reviewed papers, given 59 conference presentations, mentored six Ph.D. students and 18 undergraduate students, and served on eight Ph.D. committees. Her research has been cited more than 700 times since 2016. In order to promote STEM education, Siraj begins mentoring students in middle school, at a time when some students, especially girls, begin to lose interest in the sciences. She has hosted 19 middle and high school students for their science fair projects. In 2018, Meghana Bollimpalli, one of Siraj’s mentees from Central High School, earned more than $58,000 in scholarships for her science fair project at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Meanwhile, Stuti Chaterjee, who worked in Siraj’s lab, won the 2021 Whitbeck Memorial Award, the highest award granted to a graduating student from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Dr. Siraj is an outstanding scientist and one of the best researchers on our campus,” said Dr. Brian Berry, vice provost for research and dean of the Graduate School. “Dr. Siraj has leveraged her expertise in frozen ionic liquids to develop a very active research group. The work of this group is nationally and internationally known. Out of all the faculty members that I have observed since joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, she is one of the most promising.” She earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Karachi in Pakistan. Siraj earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Graz University of Technology in Austria and completed postdoctoral research at Louisiana State University.

Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service

A scholar of the civil rights movement, Kirk has previously served five years as chair of the Department of History and four years as the director of the former Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, where he helped develop the award-winning Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail. Kirk helped a dedicated Arkansan, Leatrice Russ-Glenns, gain recognition for the life of her brother, Carnell Russ, who was killed by the police in Star City, Arkansas, in 1971. Kirk researched and wrote articles about Russ in the Arkansas Times and Arkansas Historic Quarterly and helped establish the Carnell Russ Day Community Unity Festival in Star City, which offers a series of events to bring together the Black and white residents of the community. Kirk has also hosted “Arkansas Moments,” a show on K��Vlog��ýR, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s National Public Radio affiliate, for 10 years. He has researched and written more than 100 radio segments that provide lessons on civil rights and Black history. Since 2004, Kirk has served on the editorial board of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, the premier journal for historical studies in the state. “John has been one of the finest and most prolific scholars in the fields of Arkansas and U.S. civil rights history,” said Patrick Williams, editor of Arkansas Historical Quarterly. “Over the past quarter-century, he has been among the most frequently published authors in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, offering deeply researched and skillfully crafted studies on such topics as the desegregation of the state’s schools and public facilities, race and urban development in Little Rock, the Black Power movement, and policing and the African American community. His books and essays have repeatedly been honored for excellence, winning four of the Arkansas Historical Association’s top prizes.” Kirk’s newest book, “Winthrop Rockefeller: From New Yorker to Arkansawyer, 1912-1956,” examines the first 44 years of former Arkansas governor Winthrop Rockefeller’s life. It also looks into the history of Rockefeller’s work with civil rights and race relations. It began in New York, where he served on the executive board of the National Urban League, a leading organization in the civil rights movement. Rockefeller took an active and enthusiastic interest in its affairs and made a donation to pay for the Urban League’s new national headquarters just before he moved to Arkansas. Before joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Kirk earned the rank of a full professor at the University of London. He received a bachelor’s degree in American studies from the University of Nottingham and a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Kirk Releases New Biography Covering Winthrop Rockefeller’s New York Life

John Hill — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 16:59:21 +0000

Dr. John Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, has published a new book examining the first 44 years of former Arkansas governor Winthrop Rockefeller’s life.�� The book, “,” was published by the University of Arkansas Press and is available online and at in Little Rock, which will host a book signing by Kirk at 6:30 p.m. April 12. Kirk’s book represents the culmination of 12 years of research. It investigates why Rockefeller, scion of one of the most powerful families in American history, left New York to move to an Arkansas mountaintop in the 1950s. The book covers Rockefeller’s childhood and education, his rise in the oil industry, his military service during World War II, his marriage to and divorce from Barbara “Bobo” Sears, and the birth of his only child, future Arkansas lieutenant governor Win Paul Rockefeller. Kirk ties Rockefeller’s New York life to his later work in his adopted state, where his legacy continues to be felt more than half a century after his governorship. “Winthrop Rockefeller has a long and lasting legacy in Arkansas,” Kirk said. “His name has been imprinted on the state more than any other governor, except for perhaps Bill Clinton. When he came to the state, Rockefeller had already accumulated�� a wide range of experiences and developed a wide range of expertise. That is not reflected in the current literature, which portrays him largely as the outcast black sheep of the Rockefeller family. Then, when he came to Arkansas, the myth is that he became a totally reformed character. That is a gross misrepresentation and clumsy caricature of the man. In fact, what Rockefeller accomplished in Arkansas was very much based upon�� the blueprints�� drawn up during his earlier life in New York.” After a highly contentious and well publicized divorce from Sears, Rockefeller looked to start a new chapter in his life in a place where he could make a fresh start. “He went through a costly divorce that hit all the headlines in the popular press at the time,” Kirk said. “T�� Rockefeller family had quite an aversion to that kind of publicity. The tempestuous divorce proceedings pushed Rockefeller away from New York.” What pulled Rockefeller to Arkansas was the recommendation of Frank Newell, an insurance agent in Little Rock who served with Rockefeller during World War II. “Frank Newell became one of Winthrop’s best friends and spoke about his love of Arkansas and what a great state it was,” Kirk said. “Newell said you should come down here. It was Newell who took Winthrop to Petit Jean Mountain. Winthrop decided to set up a model cattle farm there. Now part of that land is home to the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, which is part of the University of Arkansas System.” The first Republican governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction, Rockefeller developed a reputation as a progressive politician who fought for civil rights. This was demonstrated in 1968, when Rockefeller became the only Southern governor to participate in a public ceremony of mourning for the death of Martin Luther King Jr. Rockefeller’s work with civil rights and race relations began in New York, where he served on the executive board of the National Urban League, a leading organization in the civil rights movement. He took an active and enthusiastic interest in its affairs. “Just before he moved to Arkansas, Rockefeller donated what would today be the equivalent of $1 million to pay for the Urban League’s new national headquarters,” Kirk said. “That’s a story which hasn’t been told before, but it provides an illuminating example of how deeply he was already engaged with civil rights when he came to Arkansas.” Kirk said this is one of many examples in the book of how Rockefeller’s early New York life is profoundly tied to his later activities in Arkansas.

Kirk, Wiebelhaus-Brahm, and Glazier Win 2022 CHASSE Faculty Excellence Awards

John Hill — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 15:47:22 +0000

Every year since being established in 1989, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock celebrates the most influential and highest achieving professors in the university by presenting them with its highest award possible—the Faculty Excellence Award.�� These most prestigious and coveted awards go to the professors who are making the biggest differences in their classrooms, communities, and in the world of academia due to their teaching, public service, and research. This year, the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education (CHASSE) has chosen Dr. John Kirk, George W. Donaghey distinguished professor of history, for public service, Dr. Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm, associate professor in the School of Public Affairs, for research and creative endeavors, and Dr. Rebecca Glazier, associate professor of political science, for teaching. Kirk, Wiebelhaus-Brahm, and Glazier will also be competing for the university-wide Faculty Excellence Awards that will be announced April 7.

Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service

Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching

Dr. Rebecca Glazier

Glazier’s love for and effectiveness in teaching is apparent in the awards she has received from her students, just in the past five years: The Student Government Faculty Appreciation Award (We Heart our Faculty Awards) in 2020 and the Student Government Association Faculty Member of the Year award she received for the 2016-2017 year. Glazier has also spent a considerable amount of time learning how to be a more effective teacher and has shared her considerable knowledge with the academic world by publishing several articles and books on the subject of teaching. Her latest book, “Connecting in the Online Classroom: Building Rapport between Teachers and Students,” published in 2021, came at a critical time in teaching, when so many have needed to switch their tactics in reaching their students. “With many faculty members suddenly moving their classes online—some for the first time—building connections with online students became more important than ever,” Glazier said. “Over the past two years, I have written blog posts, given interviews, taught webinars, published peer-reviewed articles, recorded videos, and even Tweeted teaching advice in order to share my research and knowledge on online teaching.” In addition to her teaching duties, Glazier has also been overseeing the Little Rock Congregations Study, which aims to understand the impacts of faith-based community engagement, get students out of the classroom and involved in the community, and to provide relevant information regarding findings in the community. She has been overseeing the research project since 2012, engaging graduate and undergraduate students in hands-on research about the religious organizations in their community. Glazier is also heavily involved in several committees and organizations including serving as the Politics and Religion Program Chair at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting in 2021, a member of the Chancellor’s University Plaza Content Committee, the Academic Technology and Computing Committee, the Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series Committee, and more.

Faculty Excellence Award for Research and Creative Endeavors

Dr. Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm

An international expert in the field of transitional justice, Wiebelhaus-Brahm is a co-investigator on the UK Global Challenges Research Fund-supported “Strategic Network on Justice, Conflict and Development,” which links a group of academics and practitioners in the developed world with those in Colombia, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Uganda. In the Hub, he is working with Dr. Kirsten Ainley of Australian National University to study donor funding priorities that focus on justice and peacebuilding. From 2015-2017, Wiebelhaus-Brahm was a co-principal investigator on a Norwegian Research Council grant evaluating the implementation record of the recommendations of 13 Latin American truth commissions. As part of this major project, he co-led a multinational research team that conducted field research in 11 countries in Latin America and has led to two books, “Exploring Truth Commission Recommendations in a Comparative Perspective: Beyond Words” and “Latin American Experiences with Truth Commission Recommendations: Beyond Words.” Since 2020, he has co-organized the “Transitional Justice in the USA” Speaker Series in which academics, activists, and policymakers discuss justice needs and efforts past and present to address historical injustices faced by racial and ethnic minorities in the US. In Arkansas, Wiebelhaus-Brahm has worked with the Pulaski County Community Remembrance Project to memorialize lynching victims in the county. He also met with Gov. Asa Hutchinson and testified before the Arkansas legislature to advocate for a truth commission to address the state’s history of racial violence. “We awarded the CHASSE Award for Excellence in Research to Dr. Wiebelhaus-Brahm because his research is meaningful, extensive, and pedagogical,” said Dr. Jana McAuliffe, chair of the CHASSE Awards Committee. “His research projects stand out as particularly meaningful because they confront the effects of violence, war, and mass atrocity, engaging human suffering as part of the difficult process of working toward global peace. He endeavors to figure out what actually works to help communities across the world heal from violence and build healthier, safer societies.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Jan. 19 roundtable discussion on 2020 election

John Hill — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 21:04:40 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of History will host a roundtable discussion to talk about the historical significance of the 2020 election cycle.

The roundtable, “Election 2020: An Immediate History,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19. Moderated by Dr. Jess Porter, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of History, the event will feature history professors Drs. David Baylis, John Kirk, Brian Mitchell, and Jim Ross.

The roundtable discussion features the first event for the 2021 Evenings with History Lecture Series.

Those interested in attending the roundtable may register��. For more information, Contact Dr. Michael Heil at��mwheil@ualr.edu.

History lecture to explore how to approach and understand the civil rights movement

John Hill — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 14:22:20 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor will give a Feb. 4 lecture that explores how historians approach and understand the civil rights movement. Dr. John Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, will give the talk, “What is the Civil Rights Movement?” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the Historic Arkansas Museum, Ottenheimer Auditorium, 200 E. Third St. in Little Rock. “Initially focusing on the 1950s and 1960s and on the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights studies have expanded chronologically and thematically since the 1960s to paint a very different picture of a black struggle for freedom and equality,” Kirk said. “This talk will outline and examine the nature and context of those changes and assess how historians view the civil rights movement today.” Kirk’s research focuses primarily on the history of the civil rights movement. He has published nine books, including the award-winning “Redefining the Color Line: Black Activism in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1940-1970.” His forthcoming book, “T�� Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader,” will be published later this year. Parking is available at the Historic Arkansas Museum parking lot at Third and Cumberland streets. Refreshments will be served at 7 p.m., followed by the talk at 7:30 p.m. The talk is part of the University History Institute’s Evenings with History lecture series.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors featured in CNN docuseries investigating tragic Wrightsville fire that left 21 black boys dead

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:48:46 +0000

On March 5, 1959, a horrific fire broke out at the Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville, just 12 miles south of Little Rock, that left 21 children, ages 13 to 17, dead.�� Around 4 a.m., the fire started, and 69 African-American boys were padlocked into their dormitory with no way out. What followed was a harrowing struggle for survival, as the boys fought and clawed their way out by prying off mesh metal screens to escape out two windows. It’s a significant event that has largely been forgotten in Arkansas’s turbulent racial history, according to Dr. John Kirk, director of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity and Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History. “T�� put the Wrightsville fire tragedy in perspective of the wider context of post-World War II race relations and what was happening in Little Rock and Arkansas at that time,” Kirk said. “T�� 1957 desegregation crisis at Central High School has represented the landscape of race relations during that period. The Wrightsville fire took place just a few years after that and is often overlooked.”�� In honor of the 60th anniversary of the Wrightsville fire, CNN created its first-ever original audio immersion . Narrated by CNN Tonight anchor Don Lemon, tells the story of one of the deadliest fires in Arkansas’s history. “That fire extinguished the lives of 21 boys-48 barely escaped-after being padlocked inside their dorm room at a reform school,” the podcast website states. “Sixty years later, through comprehensive reporting, bombshell interviews of experts, one survivor, and three sisters who lost their brothers in the fire, CNN examines what happened that dreadful night, and in the day following reveals how the state handles the investigation.” Two ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors, Kirk and Dr. Brian Mitchell, assistant professor of history, were featured as experts in the podcast series that ran June 24-28. “From the local level to the national level and beyond, our research is being used by different users in lots of different ways, even by major news organizations like CNN. This shows how our research is making an impact in the world,” Kirk said. After the fire, it was revealed that the children had been living in subpar conditions. “To call it a boys industrial school is a major misnomer,” Mitchell said. “It wasn’t really a school. It was a penal work farm. Most of the children were jailed for petty offenses like theft, vagrancy, and truancy. At the time of the fire, there was very little education going on. Instead, the children were exploited for their labor and were kept in deplorable conditions.” After the tragedy, 14 of the children were buried in a mass grave at the Haven of Rest Cemetery in Little Rock. Their bodies were so badly burned that they could not be identified. Following an investigation, a Pulaski County grand jury found that many individuals and agencies were responsible for the fire. They placed blamed on everyone from the school’s superintendent and staff, board of directors, the state’s governor and General Assembly, and the people of Arkansas. Yet, no criminal charges were ever filed. “We may never know the truth since most of those involved are now deceased and the reports and documents created by the state maintain that the fire was not intentional,” Mitchell said. “We can always hope that some revealing document or report will lead us to a clearer understanding of the cause of the fire.” While family members and historians are still searching for the truth of what happened the night of the Wrightsville fire, Mitchell is grateful to CNN for putting the spotlight on the event and hopes the publicity will encourage people with information to come forward. “CNN did an excellent job of shedding light on a little-discussed chapter in Arkansas history,” he said. “I believe that by shedding light on the incident CNN has increased the chances that those who might know more about the incident or possess records might come forward.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors featured in podcasts recalling city’s conflicted past

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:03:46 +0000

As the director of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity and Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History, Dr. John Kirk often serves as an expert source for journalists, students, and researchers looking to learn more about Arkansas’s history in race relations and civil rights.�� A year ago, he was asked to participate in an unusual project. Laura Dunnagan, a Little Rock native, had moved out of state to study poverty and development studies at Davidson College in North Carolina. Feeling conflicted about whether she wanted to return to her hometown after graduation, Dunnagan used her senior project to complete a series of podcasts that explored the city’s post-World War II history with crime, poverty, race relations, and urban development.�� “Laura is an interesting case,” Kirk said. “She’s a local lady from Arkansas who is trying to understand the city that she grew up in better. She is investigating the different dynamics that have shaped the city. It’s interesting that someone like Laura, who is from the city, is now studying Little Rock from an outside perspective. She is interested in understanding how the city’s historical roots are still important in addressing the issues we are facing today.” Last summer, Dunnagan returned to Little Rock and interviewed more than 30 people to discover how Little Rock’s history in segregation, city planning, municipal budgeting, and the role of perception transformed the city over the last six decades. She interviewed historians, politicians, city and community leaders, journalists, police officers, educators, and nonprofit workers. “When I think about the city, I usually think of my favorite parts…,” Dunnagan said in her first podcast. “I also think about the parts of the city that are hard to reckon with: the limited economic mobility that plagues the South; the differences in how people are treated based on race, class, and where they live in the city; our history of segregation and the ways the city perpetuates it. I hesitate to go home and return to a city where these inequities are so clear and are hardly acknowledged in a meaningful way.” Participants interviewed in the podcast include Assistant Chief Hayward Finks of the Little Rock Police Department; former Arkansas state legislator and 2018 mayoral candidate Warwick Sabin; Little Rock City Board of Directors members Gene Fortson, Ken Richardson, and Doris Wright; Austin Kellerman, KARK news director and founder of Victory over Violence; Mike Poore, superintendent of the Little Rock School District; Glenn Hersey, outreach pastor at Saint Mark Baptist Church; and Leifel Jackson, founder of Reaching Our Neighborhoods and Children. “I knew conversations about crime would be at the forefront of what was happening in Little Rock during the mayoral election,” Dunnagan said. “If I could use crime as a way to understand Little Rock, I knew it would make an interesting story in a way that people in Little Rock will find topical.” At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, she interviewed Kirk as well as Dr. David Montague, professor of criminal justice, and Barrett Allen, director of the University District Development Partnership. “I spoke mainly about my research and how Little Rock has changed since World War II and its impact on race and race relations in the city,” Kirk said. “That research is being used by different users in lots of different ways, from college projects to major news organizations like.” At the end of her project, Dunnagan also felt encouraged by people trying to make positive changes in Little Rock and urged residents to get involved in their community. “I would encourage people to stay aware of the news and watch the City Council meetings because knowing what is happening in the city is crucial to doing any activism,” she said. “I would also recommend getting involved in your own neighborhood associations. Because there are so many opportunities to get involved and to help the community in Little Rock, it is hard to prescribe one thing that would be most helpful.” Dunnagan’s podcast series and more information about its creation can be found at. The podcasts are also available through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Play.

Little Rock community members discuss race, ethnicity, and popular culture

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 14:32:37 +0000

When Jimmy Cunningham Jr. once visited Hawaii, a group of Hawaiian children surprised him with their ideas on how black people act.�� “Native Hawaiian children, who had seen popular videos on television and social media, told me what it meant to be black,” Cunningham told an audience of more than 70 people at the Racial Attitudes Conference April 17 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “T��y said, ‘You got to have attitude; you have to be angry; and you have to be able to tear something up,’” Cunningham said. “I asked the kids, ‘Have you ever seen Oprah tear anything up?’ They said, ‘Well, she doesn’t count.’” Cunningham, executive director of the Delta Rhythm & Bayous Alliance, described the encounter during a community panel about the survey results that focused on attitudes toward race, ethnicity, and popular culture in Little Rock. According to the survey results, a majority of blacks and half of whites say the way blacks are portrayed in television and movies hurts day-to-day public perceptions about racial and ethnic stereotypes. This encounter, Cunningham argued, is proof that the way blacks are portrayed in popular culture influences how black people are perceived by others. “When you talk about media portrayals, the representation of what it means to be black is impacted profoundly by people who only see what comes across in popular media,” he said. “This was a very eye-opening experience.” During the survey, the Survey Research Center in the School of Public Affairs interviewed more than 400 white and 400 black people in Little Rock by telephone along with 115 Hispanic respondents. This year’s survey covers a wide range of themes related to popular culture including social relationships, social media, television news, media representations of race and ethnicity, music, residence, and sport protests. “T�� survey reveals the very different ways in which Hispanics, blacks, and whites consume and relate to popular culture, as well as demonstrating some common understandings and similarities,” said Dr. John Kirk, director of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity. “Notably, and strikingly, for example, there seems to be a good understanding of and significant support for the NFL ‘take a knee’ protests across racial and ethnic lines.” In the race, ethnicity, sport, and protest section of the survey, a majority of blacks, Hispanics, and whites believe that the football players’ protests are trying to call attention to racism and unfair police tactics and are not trying to disrespect the military or veterans. A majority of all three groups also think that a professional athlete or team who protests an issue by not standing for the national anthem is demonstrating the freedom the anthem represents. Another section of the survey the panel discussed was the results on race, ethnicity, and music. Panel member Stephen Koch, writer/host of “Arkansongs,” a weekly radio program examining and celebrating Arkansas music and musicians, was disappointed with the results that showed people in Little Rock often listened to music along ethnic lines. “We’ve always been told music is a place where our ethnicities don’t matter,” Koch said. “If we are supposed to be sharing culture, we should be sharing our music. Maybe thinking music is a place we can come together is another fallacy.” The survey results found that whites listen to rock, country, and rhythm and blues music often or sometimes, while blacks listen to gospel, religious music, jazz, rap, and hip hop. Hispanics, meanwhile, listened to gospel, religious music, and salsa or Spanish rock often or sometimes. “Who are these white people who aren’t listening to jazz, and I know everybody is listening to hip hop!” Koch said. “We can still come together, but we need to start listening to each other’s music.” Miguel Lopez, Hispanic resource officer for First Community Bank, identified music as one of the avenues that can bring divided communities together. “We tend to say Little Rock is a very divided city, but where we’re not divided is how we interact,” Lopez said. “It’s music or food or sports that can bring us together. We have those avenues where people can come together and realize that we have a lot more in common than we are different. I think the best way to combat racism and bigotry is to interact together.” He was also interested in the survey results that showed Hispanics were the most likely of the three ethnic groups to use social networking sites. “Most Hispanics in Little Rock are first-generation immigrants, so social media is a great avenue for us to stay in touch with loved ones,” Lopez said. “Hispanics are also very entrepreneurially minded, and social media is a great place to boost small businesses.” In a follow-up remark, panel member Kara Wilkins, communications and community engagement strategist, felt that social media offers black and Hispanic people a community space where they can connect. “T��se individuals see a space for themselves on social media that they may not see in their everyday lives,” Wilkins said. “Social media allows minority groups to discuss things among themselves. People feel like they have a community for themselves.” For more information on the Racial Attitudes Survey, contact the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity at 501-569-8932 or race-ethnicity@ualr.edu. In the upper right photo, community members speak at a panel at the Racial Attitudes Conference April 17 in the Jack Stephens Center. The panelists include, from left to right, Stephen Koch, Miguel Lopez, Kara Wilkins, and Jimmy Cunningham Jr. Photo by Benjamin Krain.��

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Little Rock community members discuss race, ethnicity, and popular culture

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��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors featured in podcasts recalling city’s conflicted past