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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Graduate Completes Thesis on Content in German-Language Newspaper During WWI

John Hill — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 16:00:44 +0000

A graduating ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student is thankful to the history department for helping prepare him for a career as an archivist through the extensive research he was required to do for his thesis. Little Rock native Harrison Mitchell earned his bachelor’s degree in news editorial journalism from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2011. Now over a decade later, he graduated with a master’s degree in public history on Dec. 17. Mitchell’s thesis explores written content in , a German-language newspaper based in Little Rock during World War I. The Echo is the only surviving newspaper source about Arkansas’s German community, as well as the only insight into what the German press was printing during the war. Mitchell got his inspiration for the topic from the year he spent as a foreign exchange student in Vienna, Austria, in high school. “That experience really cemented the language for me,” Mitchell said. “Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to do this research at all, since most of it was in German.” Mitchell focused his research on the years between 1914 and 1918, comparing the tone and content before and after the United States entered the war to see how the newspaper handled the growing anti-German sentiment in the country during the shift. Research also came from, “Das Arkansas Echo: A Year in the Life of Germans in the Nineteenth-Century South” by Kathleen Condray, associate professor of German at the University of Arkansas. The book examines the topics covered during its inaugural year, including the newspaper’s crusade against prohibition, advocacy for German schools and language, and stance on immigration. “Overall, I’d say the program prepares you for the field really well, especially when it comes to research,” Mitchell said. “I even had a graduate assistantship for the Center for Arkansas History and Culture downtown to supplement my archival learning and give me hands-on experience.” He organized his information on a database, the idea of which he credits to Dr. Charles Romney, professor of history and graduate coordinator of the public history program. “I collected about 300 articles, so it was a lot to keep track of,” Mitchell said. “The database gave me key searchability, helped me identify common themes, and what was going on. Staying organized is one of the most important parts of a research process.”

��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. “There I really started to mature and find my sea legs, as you will,” he said. “The 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, “The 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. “The AME church put forth the philosophy that they wanted Freedman taught in the classical manner, emphasizing subjects like English, literature, and algebra,” Thompson said. “They 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 Public History Graduate Spotlight on Acadia Roher

John Hill — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 14:30:26 +0000

Acadia Roher is graduating this month with a master’s degree in public history from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. After completing her thesis, “Urban Renewal in Little Rock’s Dunbar Historic Neighborhood: A Walking Tour,” the new graduate will begin her career as a historical research associate in Maryland. Why did you choose to study at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock? I chose to study at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock because I didn’t want to move out of Little Rock. It was really important for my community work that I stayed here. There also aren’t that many programs in Arkansas available to get a master’s degree in public history. Dr. Barclay Key, a friend and neighbor who is a professor in the history department, encouraged me to apply. This was a really good option. What is the topic of your thesis? My thesis is titled, “Urban Renewal in Little Rock’s Dunbar Historic Neighborhood: A Walking Tour.” I decided to do a project thesis. When working as a graduate assistant for the Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC), the project I was most involved in was mapping renewal. We digitized and analyzed all of the materials that ��Vlog��ý Little Rock has about mapping renewal in Little Rock and its impact on the city. I have been really interested in all the forces that shape our city, particularly in relation to segregation. The Dunbar neighborhood was the first urban renewal project in Little Rock that set the stage in Little Rock, so it felt like the best place to start. Who was your favorite professor or mentor? Dr. Marta Cieslak, from Poland, taught an incredible women’s history class. In all of our readings and discussions with her, the way that she brought out everyone in the classroom was absolutely incredible. What are some of the highlights from your college career? My graduate assistantship/internship at CAHC was the highlight from September of 2018 until September 2021. I got to do so many cool projects there, and they really saw it as an extension of our learning process. All of the GAs had meetings every week to grow and learn together academically. I feel like I walked away knowing what an archivist does and basically how to do every step that we would need to know. Were you involved in any community work or have a job? I was involved in a lot of community work, with the main one being public education. I think having democratic control of our schools is really important. The LRSD was under state control for five years starting in 2015, so I was a part of a group that was holding the state accountable for what was happening within the school district. We were pushing for them to hand over control back to the community. I also was a nonprofit consultant with contract work doing anything from facilitated meetings to a strategic planning process. What are you looking forward to after graduation? I will be making a big move to Maryland. I got a job at the Montgomery County planning department to be a historical research associate. We will be looking into racial covenants. Racial covenants were created when a subdivision developer would require that only white Americans could buy or rent certain properties. It still has a huge impact on our landscape today and how they continue to develop. Montgomery County is looking at this history to undo and repair some of the harm that was done. I’m looking forward to being in a new place, and this research is really important to me. I think this is the kind of work that needs to be happening all over the country. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? One of the reasons I’m moving to Maryland is because my sister just had a baby, and I really want to be close to her. So hopefully, I will have a 10-year-old nephew that I will be close to. I also want to get involved in housing justice work in Maryland, being there for my family, and making a living wage. Doing research or working as an archivist is something that matters and is meaningful to me. What is the best advice you were given or would like to give to new college students? If you have to write a paper that involves any kind of historic research, ask archivists and librarians. Don’t be afraid to ask the reference desk. What I’ve learned from being at CAHC, people who work there know all these treasures that are waiting for students to find them. They’re difficult to come by on your own, but if you speak with an archivist, they’ll be ecstatic that you’re interested and will want to help you.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Public History Graduate Spotlight on Christy Hendricks

John Hill — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 14:45:43 +0000

A ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student is graduating this fall with a master’s degree in public history. Christy Hendricks, a native of Ward, Arkansas, will graduate Dec. 18. For her thesis, Hendricks made a comprehensive interpretation analysis of the Quapaw Native Americans and created fact sheets for the Arkansas Post National Memorial Visitors Center that would further the knowledge of Native American history in the area of Arkansas Post. The Quapaw were agricultural people who lived near the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers. When the French arrived, they set up a trading post near a few Quapaw villages in the same area. The French and Quapaw had mutually beneficial alliances allowing the two cultures to coexist. “When I began my educational journey, I was a single mother with a young child,” Hendricks said. “I didn’t have to relocate to attend class. Luckily, I worked for people who supported me in my education and allowed me to have a flexible work schedule, which meant I was able to attend day classes, put in hours at work, and still be home with my child in the evenings.” The graduate student began her master’s program in 2019 and has enjoyed meeting people of various ages with similar interests as well as proving to herself that she can achieve her life goals. “As an older, non-traditional student, I had a lot of insecurities throughout my journey, but when I began the master’s program, I realized I’m not the only non-traditional student and that my goals were within reach,” said Hendricks. While pursuing her master’s degree, she worked two jobs. She spent 20 years as the creative director of The Leader newspaper and held graduate assistantships at the Clinton Presidential Library and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. Hendricks was particularly interested in research methods, as well as a general understanding of archeological and anthropological approaches, which helped her prepare for her job position. “Dr. Krista Lewis, Dr. Kristin Dutcher-Mann, and Dr. Andrew Beaupre all played a part in guiding me through my education – particularly in the past couple of years,” said Hendricks. “I really enjoyed all my classes and teachers throughout my journey.” Hendricks will begin her new career as an archeologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service following graduation. On a normal day, she and her colleagues visit a project site to assess whether there are any cultural resources that may be impacted by the project and write reports. Hendricks intends to spend as much time as she can with her daughter, Teagan, who will graduate from high school in May. Teagan, like her mother, intends to continue her study and obtain a Ph.D. in the future.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Student is Coordinating Living History Program at National Museum of the Pacific War

John Hill — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 14:25:26 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock public history student has begun a new career running a living history program at the National Museum of the Pacific War, which provides the nation’s most comprehensive account of World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific theater. Aaron Shuman, a native of Graham, Washington, recently moved to Fredericksburg, Texas, to start his new job as the museum experience coordinator at the museum, which preserves and exhibits the material history of the war in the Pacific and Indo-China during World War II. “The public history program worked out really well for me,” Shuman said. “I have a graduate assistantship at the Clinton Presidential Library, and my supervisor introduced me to my summer internship at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. The skills I picked up at both of those locations were critical to getting this job.” The National Museum of the Pacific War’s Living History programs, housed in the Pacific Combat Zone, includes “Pride of the Pacific,” a live battlefield program, and “The Outposts,” an in-depth presentation featuring staff and volunteers in World War II uniforms or period clothing use artifacts and items from the museum’s collection. “Pride of the Pacific” is a live-action performance featuring landing crafts, explosives, and flamethrowers as members of the museum’s own Company K. “The Outposts” includes discussions on weapons of war, Navy fighter planes, and communications during World War II. “One of the museum’s buildings is the birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, who led U.S. naval forces in the Pacific during World War II,” Shuman said. “The museum is a Smithsonian affiliate, and it’s comparable in size to the Clinton Presidential Library. The Pacific Combat Zone is very unique, and a lot of facilities don’t have a separate building for living history programs. You see tanks driving around and programs that use real flamethrowers. It’s not every day that you see these things that are 75+ years old and being used the way they were originally meant to be.” Shuman’s new position is giving him a real living history experience. Not only does he get to use machines and weaponry from World War II, he has been temporarily lodged at the Ruff Haus, a building that has over 100 years of history and was built by the town’s original German settlers. An Air Force veteran, Shuman started in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s public history graduate program in January 2020, just one day after leaving military service. “I was in the Air Force, and I realized that I didn’t want to be an aircraft mechanic forever,” Shuman said. “As a kid, I played war board games with my dad and got very interested in the Second World War. I was stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and then I went to Little Rock Air Force Base. I looked for a public history program in Arkansas, and low and behold this very rare public history program was down the street.” Shuman will graduate in December and is writing his thesis on the ways that presidential funerals reflect the lives and values of American Presidents. As he nears the completion of his master’s degree, Shuman is still surprised by how much his life has changed since joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Two years ago, I was changing tires on a C-1301, and now I’m running a public history program at a national museum in Texas,” Shuman said. “It’s crazy how fast things have changed. If ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s program didn’t have all these work opportunities to fill my resume, I don’t think this opportunity would have happened. I went from a mechanic to an academic in less than two years. I didn’t expect to get it done this quickly.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock grad Jason Littleton details heroic life of missionary Pearle McCain

John Hill — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 20:04:33 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student has detailed the life of Pearle McCain, a missionary from Arkansas who spent 40 years serving in Japan and China, in his graduate research. Jason Littleton of Little Rock will graduate this December with a master’s degree in public history. He discovered McCain’s personal journal and photographs while interning with the United Methodist Museum of the Arkansas Conference, located at First United Methodist Church in Little Rock, during the fall 2015 semester. He was fascinated with her story and detailed it in his thesis, “The Light We Cast: The Life of Pearle McCain.” “I happened upon a cardboard box with an unprocessed collection of Pearle McCain’s materials,” Littleton said. “I read her journal, and she was being kicked out of China because of the Japanese invasion. The more I read, the more I found her to be a truly authentic person. Her religious beliefs guided her life in a way that you don’t often see anymore. She was a rare person where it seemed like everything she did – the impetus for that was her faith and her love of humanity. In a quiet and humble way, she was really a very extraordinary person. Her journal and photographs brought that to life, and I wanted to tell her story.” Born as the eighth of 10 children in 1902, McCain, a native of Hazen, became interested in missionary work in elementary school. She earned degrees from Galloway Women’s College in Searcy and Scarritt College for Christian Workers in Nashville, Tennessee, and taught for four years at Sue Bennett College in London, Kentucky, while waiting for her missionary assignment. She traveled to China in 1929 and served as a missionary and teacher until 1942, when she was forced to return to the U.S. due the Japanese invasion of China during World War II. While visiting a missionary friend in Soochow (Suzhou), McCain became stranded because of events surrounding The First Battle of Shanghai—a series of battles between Japanese soldiers and the Chinese military seen as an intentional step by Japan to further its territorial conquest of China that began in September 1931, with the Mukden Incident. “Stranded in Soochow for several weeks, McCain volunteered her time and efforts in aiding the hundreds of refugees displaced by the fighting who sought shelter at Soochow University,” Littleton said. “This incident provides an early example of Pearle McCain’s dedication to service especially in the face of danger and uncertainty; it is indicative of her lifelong commitment to her philosophic and religious ideals that came to the fore during the Chinese Invasion of Shanghai and afterwards.” McCain was teaching English, led Sunday School lessons, and served as assistant principal at the Susan B. Wilson School, a grammar school for Chinese girls, when Japanese forces invaded Shanghai in 1937. In August, McCain and a friend visited McTyeire School, where McCain used to teach. Their train became “overladen with people desperate to flee the conflict.” “Until her forced evacuation on August 20, McCain spend her time assisting the church personnel and tending to the needs of the refugees. Her journal entry on the evening before their departure offered a rare glimpse into the emotional distress she experienced during this time. ‘…leaving the hardest thing I ever did.’ Pearle would spend the next several weeks desperately searching for a way back to China and her students.” After McCain left China in 1942, she earned a degree from Union Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in education from Columbia University. McCain made it back to China in 1946, only to have to leave again in 1949 when the Communist government came to power. In 1951, McCain traveled to Japan, where she taught for 20 years and later became the chair of the Christian Education department at Seiwa College for Christian Workers in Nishinomiya, Japan.

Jason Littleton

McCain was awarded a Fifth Class Order of the Sacred Treasure from the emperor of Japan in recognition of her long service to Japan. She retired to Little Rock in 1971 and was an active member at Trinity United Methodist Church until 1979, when she moved to the Brooks Howell Home for Retired Missionaries and Deaconesses in Asheville, North Carolina. McCain passed away on Dec. 23, 1983. Littleton’s advisor, Dr. Andrew Amstutz, assistant professor of history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, said the work will show new connections between Arkansas and East Asia. “Jason’s unique research project reveals unstudied connections between Arkansas and East Asia, particularly to China during WWII and to Japan in the postwar era,” Amstutz said. “I was impressed both by his sustained devotion to the project and by his historical research skills.” Littleton also transcribed 150 pages of McCain’s journal that was written from 1935-1938. The journal contains McCain’s account of the July 1937 Japanese invasion of China, including her detention in Shanghai for several months and her efforts to return to her school and students. “She was teaching in China when the Japanese invaded. She had to leave, but she kept talking about trying to get back to her girls so she could continue teaching them,” Littleton said of McCain. “That just exudes her courage. She committed herself to these girls and these schools, and she thought their suffering was hers. She was able to get back there. She talks about teaching while gunfire is in the background and the bravery of the girls.” Littleton’s thesis also includes a plan to create an exhibit of McCain’s journal entries, photographs, and letters at the United Methodist Museum so that more people will learn about her extraordinary life and mission, especially from 1929 to 1938. The museum held an exhibit, Pearle McCain: Faith in Action,” featuring some of the collection in 2018. “The thesis was written specifically with the museum in mind,” Littleton said. “They own the McCain collection along with Hendrix College, which has the Methodist archives. I would love to see the collection processed and to see an exhibit set up so people can learn more about Pearle’s life and missionary work. Littleton also earned a bachelor’s degree in history from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2010, after serving as a military policeman in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2001-2005. After he graduates this semester, Littleton plans to attend the doctoral program in history at the University of Arkansas for the fall 2021 semester and eventually wants to become a college history professor. “Teaching at the college level is ultimately my goal,” Littleton said. “I feel like there is nothing like the past to tell us who we are and where we should go. I would like to see a restoration of something akin to a classical liberal arts education. I believe you need that education to be a full human being. In my many years of education, I’ve been inspired by many teachers who have been great educators, and I’d like to continue that trend.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock researchers uncover forgotten African American history in Arkansas

John Hill — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 13:19:41 +0000

University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor of history Dr. Brian Mitchell has been leading an effort to uncover forgotten moments in African American Arkansas history. A native of New Orleans, Mitchell began teaching at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2014 and is passionate about including students and the community in his research. “History is often viewed as a lonesome profession,” Mitchell said. “However, since I focus on public history, I am able to involve students and the community in the research, which makes it really exciting and fun. I’m really big on student involvement in my research.” Mitchell and his students have been unearthing the history of the Elaine massacre. In September 1919, a dark chapter in Arkansas history emerged in a small Delta town next to the Mississippi River. Elaine, Arkansas, sits just west of the river in Phillips County. During this time, black sharecroppers gathered with the Progressive Farmers and Household Union to unite against the landowners and store clerks who manipulated their sales to keep them in perpetual debt. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, landowners would take cotton picked by sharecroppers to the store and lie about the amount of money paid for each batch. Store clerks would manipulate their ledgers to verify the story of the landowners. The sharecroppers knew they were being deceived, and wanted to band together with a union and hire a lawyer to help their cause. Among the men was World War I veteran Leroy Johnston and his three brothers. However, landowners caught wind of their plan and hired spies to attend their meetings and report their conversations back to them. One September night, two spies were shot when the union members discovered their identity. One spy was seriously injured and one died. After the incident, a telephone operator in the town reached out to different communities for reinforcements. As more and more citizens responded to her call, a white mob suddenly formed and began killing hundreds of black men, women, and children. The call even reached the governor’s office, where Arkansas governor Charles Brough ordered 500 soldiers from Camp Pike to disperse the mob. After the massacre, 12 black men involved in the meeting that night were sentenced to death by an all-white jury for the murder of the one spy. No one from the white mobs were tried for murder during the massacre. After a series of appeals, which eventually led to the U.S. Supreme Court under the case Moore vs. Dempsey, the 12 men were released from prison. Mitchell started unearthing the history of the Elaine massacre when he and his students began searching for the location of the bodies of those killed in the riots. With hundreds of people killed, it is unusual that no one knows where the bodies are buried. Mitchell turned to the Arkansas State Archives and found a collection from a local funeral home that included death certificates in Phillips County. Once he found these records, he and his students began indexing and scanning each certificate to make them accessible to the general public. Honoring Veterans From this project, Mitchell was able to start investigating the life of World War I veteran Leroy Johnston, who was killed in the riots along with his three brothers. As they dug further through Johnston’s military records, they discovered his information had been altered to show that he was “slightly” injured during combat in France instead of “severely.” Because of this alteration, he was not able to receive military benefits and honors for serving his country. Once Mitchell and his students compiled enough information to make a case about the forgery, he contacted Arkansas Congressman French Hill to see if Leroy Johnston could posthumously receive the honors he was due. Congressman Hill agreed, and in a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Johnston received the medals he deserved during his time in combat, including the Purple Heart. Johnston was part of the distinguished infantry regiment, “Harlem Hellfighters.” After this ceremony, Representative Hill, along with Representatives Emanuel Cleaver and Sam Graves introduced the World War I Valor Medals Review Act (HR 2249). This bill requires the Department of Defense to review military records of minority servicemen. “It’s interesting when you think that one little project in Little Rock opened the pathway for the reexamination of all the records of black soldiers in the United States,” Mitchell said. Mitchell’s next project examined what happened to the 12 men released from prison. With the threat of lynching and other forms of racial violence, these men naturally wanted to leave the community. Mitchell and his students found six of the men and created ways to commemorate their lives at their grave sites. Additionally, Mitchell and his students wrote biographies for each of the men and published them in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. They also created a fundraising campaign to establish historical markers at each grave site. The first marker placed was for Frank Moore. Mitchell sees this project as an important reminder of what can happen when hate and extreme polarization lead to violence. “Frank Moore was a man who fought for his country, returned, and was placed on death row falsely, when all he was trying to do is protect his rights as an American citizen,” Mitchell said. In September 2019, different groups in Little Rock, Helena-West Helena, and Fayetteville held events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragic event. The Elaine Massacre Memorial was officially dedicated in Helena-West Helena on Sept. 30, 2019. Westrock Community Mitchell and his students are also researching the former Westrock community, located in the present-day Riverdale area off Cantrell Road in Little Rock. This community housed servants and other employees who worked in the Heights area of Little Rock in the early 20th century and before. In the 1960s, this community was relocated to the far-east side of town in the Granite Mountain area of Little Rock. Mitchell wants to work with all areas of the community to create an interactive website that tells the story of the Westrock community and the families that inhabited the area. “We want this to be a community effort, and an effort that’s as much about telling the history and healing, and reuniting people,” Mitchell said.

Girl standing in front of Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church #3, one of the cornerstones of the Westrock community. Credit: Lois Threet

Spreading the Message Mitchell is still hard at work to uncover the hidden past. In June 2019, Dr. Mitchell and Dr. John Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, contributed to a CNN Podcast that shed light on a tragic fire at the Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville, Arkansas, that killed 21 children. Mitchell sees himself as a historian compelled to tell the hard stories. While Arkansas is known for civil rights events such as the Little Rock Nine, many stories are generally unknown to the public, in many ways because they do not have happy endings. “Historical research peers into the human heart and examines how just and unjust policies affect our communities and families,” Mitchell said. “Acknowledging the past allows us to heal and move forward. It examines what we need to do in order to prevent these events from happening again. In order to create a just and peaceful society today, we must examine how hatred and discrimination affected societies of the past. Historical research gives us the perspective we need to create an ethical society that treats all members with respect and dignity.” This story was provided by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

Mitchell honors ancestor’s place in New Orleans history

John Hill — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 14:24:08 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor is bringing to light the long, forgotten accomplishments of a historically significant family member by participating in a public project striving to preserve the erased history of New Orleans. is a public art and public history project designed to elevate the voices of the people of New Orleans. The project sought public proposals for prospective monuments, memorials, and public art that honors the erased histories of the people, places, movements, and events of New Orleans’ 300-year history. In the Paper Monument Posters project, a team of designers, artists, urbanists, and educators have been working since July 2017 to pair scholarly narratives and locally commissioned artwork in telling lost or obscured stories of New Orleans history. One post tells the story of , the country’s first black lieutenant governor and the three-times great uncle of Brian Mitchell, an assistant professor of history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “My great uncle was the equivalent to Barack Obama in his time, but it wasn’t until I got to college that I began hearing about these political figures in any sort of detail,” Mitchell said. Mitchell, along with artist Jeremy Paten, recently published a Paper Monument Poster highlighting the life and achievements of Dunn in New Orleans’ history. “The Paper Monuments project is a creative attempt to deal with reimagining public spaces formerly used to display Confederate monuments,” Mitchell said. “The project paired historians with artists to tell the stories that they believe are worthy of public commemoration, in hopes that knowledge of the people and events commemorated by the project will shape the selection of monuments selected to replace the ones removed.” Dunn was born a slave in 1822 in New Orleans. On Feb. 5, 1831, Oscar Dunn was purchased by his stepfather, James Dunn, a free black stage carpenter. After he was emancipated in 1832, Dunn attended one of the city’s free schools, but was apprenticed to a master plasterer at 14. After the Civil War, Dunn began a business of writing contracts for freed slaves. His contracts assured former slaves that they would be paid fairly by plantation owners and required that education be provided to their children. Dunn was a rising political star who fought for public education for children, universal suffrage, and civil rights. Dunn was among the first black men appointed to political office within Louisiana’s Reconstruction government. In 1867, Dunn was elected to the New Orleans Board of Aldermen and was also installed as the assistant recorder of the city’s Second District Court, becoming the first black person to serve in a judicial capacity in the state. In July 1868, Dunn ran on the Republican gubernatorial ticket with Henry Warmoth and was elected Louisiana’s first black lieutenant governor. In office, Dunn opposed the de-facto re-enslavement of black children through agricultural apprenticeships and helped to form “The Bakery for the People,” a collected designed to foster economic independence. On Sept. 26, 1868, Gov. Warmoth vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, creating a schism within Louisiana’s Republican party. Dunn helped lead the faction that sought to remove Warmoth from office. In the event of Warmoth’s impeachment, Dunn, as lieutenant governor, would have become governor, making him the first black governor in the U.S. “By 1871, they had mustered enough support to impeach the governor,” Mitchell said. “Before Warmoth’s impeachment, Dunn became violently ill and quickly died, leading many to speculate that he had been poisoned.” On the day of Dunn’s funeral, Nov. 23, 1871, a day of mourning was declared, closing all the city’s government offices. An estimated 50,000 people attended Dunn’s funeral, one of the largest in New Orleans history. What Mitchell finds most ironic about participating in the Paper Monuments is that Dunn was originally meant to have a monument. Louisiana allocated $10,000 to build a monument to honor Dunn, but it was never built. Overall, Mitchell loved participating in the project and hopes that a similar public project will begin in Arkansas to commemorate the state’s forgotten heroes. “I loved the idea and believe it would be wonderful if Arkansas created a similar project to showcase the state’s little known historical events and figures,” Mitchell said.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students capture history of Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau

John Hill — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 22:09:40 +0000

University of Arkansas at Little Rock public history students are working to preserve the history of Little Rock one organization at a time. Since 1984, students in Deborah Baldwin’s class have annually created a history of a local Little Rock organization, business, or nonprofit. They have completed histories on the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN), Arkansas Times, Little Rock Zoo, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Junior League of Little Rock, Little Rock Central High School, Arkansas Arts Center, and many more. The students recently completed a history of the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission and the , just in time to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The project was headed by public history students Alex Soulard and Nancy Tell-Hall. Additional members of the class include Kathryn Bryles, Jessica Chavez, Kary Goetz, Andrew McClain, Devin Sorrows, and Kathryn Thompson. “It was an interesting experience to be a project manager,” Soulard said. “My biggest takeaway from the project was the real-life, hand-on experience we received by working on a team with a real client. As historians, we largely work individually. We hardly get to work with a group of people. When you are completing a 50-year history project in four months with nine other people, you learn really good project management skills.” The comprehensive history of the two organizations, “Fifty Years of Southern Hospitality,” resulted in a 200-page report that included 17 oral history interviews as well as extensive research into the financial, tourism, and operational impact of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. “I want to thank the students and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for preserving the history of the organization,” said Gretchen Hall, president and CEO of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. “I think they did an excellent job documenting our history and compiling it.” The visitor’s bureau plans to use sections of the report to promote its 50th anniversary and to educate employees and visitors about the importance of the organization. “This year is our 50th anniversary. The report communicates the value of our organization for the past 50 years,” Hall said. “We can use it as a springboard for the conversation of where our organization will go in the next 50 years.” The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau serves as the official marketing organization for the City of Little Rock and is tasked with marketing the city as a meeting, sports, and leisure travel destination. Funding through the city’s hotel, motel, and restaurant tax, the bureau manages the Statehouse Convention Center, Robinson Center, River Market, and multiple parking facilities. The Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission serves as the governing body for the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. The seven-member volunteer consists of two elected officials from the City of Little Rock, four owners within the Little Rock hospitality industry, and one at-large seat. The organizations will continue to strive to improve the city’s economy and residents’ quality of life through the promotion of tourism in Little Rock. Upcoming projects include the renovation of the Arkansas Arts Center and the construction of several youth sports facilities.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock grad uncovers history of oldest state law enforcement agency in Arkansas

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 21 May 2019 16:29:30 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate has honored his family’s legacy by devoting his graduate research to uncovering the history of the Arkansas Highway Police. Cody Besett, 27, of Rogers, graduated May 11 with a Master of Arts in public history with an emphasis in archives and digital collections. Since his father and grandfather were both officers with the Arkansas Highway Police, he was inspired to write his thesis about the state law enforcement agency. “I have a personal tie to the Arkansas Highway Police,” Besett said. “My grandfather retired from the agency many years ago, and my father will retire from there in a few years. My dad thought it was interesting, but he knew it would be quite an undertaking.” Besett wanted to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the formation of the agency but found it difficult to locate official documents related to the agency. “My father gave me contacts for retired officers and administrators, and I did some oral histories with them. That was very beneficial because some of the official documents don’t exist,” he said. “The Center for Arkansas History and Culture has some records. There was an auditor in the 1950s who complained that the agency didn’t keep records long enough. There have been many iterations of this agency, but there are not many official records. My greatest source was a Highway Department magazine that was put out by the employees.” The Arkansas Highway Police is the oldest state law enforcement agency in Arkansas. Established as the State Road Patrol in 1929, its duties involve speed enforcement, protection of the highways, hazardous materials enforcement, and federal motor carrier safety. “Actions of state law enforcement agencies, like the AHP, have made a measured impact on the history of 20th century Arkansas,” he said. “The AHP has played a less visible role at times, but one that is important to the safety, construction, and maintenance of the highway system and drivers in Arkansas.” In 1933, the agency was transferred to the Revenue Department. When the State Road Patrol dissolved in 1937, the enforcement duties were split between inspectors with the Arkansas Highway Department and Arkansas State Police officers. The enforcement of weight standards was transferred from the Revenue Department to the Weights and Standards Division of the Arkansas State Police in 1953. A decade later, the division was transferred back to the Highway Department. The current Arkansas Highway Police Division of the Highway Department was created in 1979. In 1989, the Transportation Safety Agency transferred to the Highway Department and an additional 34 officers to the Arkansas Highway Police. One figure that Besett found particularly vital to the history of the Arkansas Highway Police was John Bailey, who spent 27 years in Arkansas law enforcement and served as both chief of the Arkansas Highway Police and director of the Arkansas State Police. “Chief John Bailey is the only officer in my knowledge to serve as the head officer of both the highway and state police in Arkansas,” Besett said. “He worked very hard to build the image of the Arkansas Highway Police. He emphasized hiring educated officers. He used standardized training for police officers and wanted to use the most up-to-date training tactics. He took his ideas on recruitment and training when he became chief of the Arkansas State Police.” While there have been calls over the years to merge the Arkansas Highway Police with the Arkansas State Police, Besett said the agency’s unique duties have kept it alive over the decades. “Arkansas is very unique in that we have two major state police forces, and they are not under the same umbrella,” he said. “In my opinion, it is the state highway police’s specialization that makes them special and keeps them from getting absorbed by the state police.” Besett earned his bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Lyon College in Batesville. He worked as a social studies teacher in Farmington until 2017, when his wife got a job in Little Rock after finishing medical school. While at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Besett has gained valuable experience as researcher and interviewer with the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, where he conducted oral history interviews with women in Arkansas. He also interned with the Arkansas State Library, where he was responsible for making digital scans of historic state documents for preservation efforts. He feels he has gained the most experience working as a graduate assistant in the Center for Arkansas History and Culture. “I knew I wanted to go back to school, and I chose ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. I’ve really enjoyed my two graduate assistantships,” he said. “The value of those positions has certainly kept me here. The program at the Center for Arkansas History and Culture has really ticked off all the boxes for everything I need to learn to become an archivist. Dr. Deborah Baldwin sat down with each of us and reviewed our resumes. I feel like I am fully prepared to apply for full-time positions after working my two graduate assistantships.” Now that his graduate education is complete, Besett plans to work in archival sciences. He also enjoys his work as an archival digitization specialist with Ancestry.com, where he captures digital images of microfilm records to assist people looking for vital records in Arkansas, including birth, marriage, death, and divorce certificates. In the upper right photo, Cody Besett stands between two Arkansas Highway Patrol vehicles. Photo by Ben Krain.

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

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Graduate Completes Thesis on Content in German-Language Newspaper During WWI

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

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Public History Graduate Spotlight on Acadia Roher

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Public History Graduate Spotlight on Christy Hendricks

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Student is Coordinating Living History Program at National Museum of the Pacific War

����Vlog��ý Little Rock grad Jason Littleton details heroic life of missionary Pearle McCain

����Vlog��ý Little Rock researchers uncover forgotten African American history in Arkansas