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

Graduate student presents research to last living child of Carl Bailey

Taylor Aldana — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 20:41:19 +0000

Giving voice to the people and events of the past is one of graduate student Nicolette Talley’s greatest joys. “With the help of the public history program, I will be able to do this for the rest of my life,” said Talley, who is scheduled to graduate in December from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She discovered the subject for her thesis while a graduate assistant at the ��Vlog��ýLR Center for Arkansas History and Culture. Kaye Lundgren, archival assistant, recently processed a collection on former Arkansas governor Carl Bailey. The subject fell right into her lap, Talley said. “I started asking (Lundgren) more questions when she told me that Bailey had a friendship with Harry Truman before he was president, which I found fascinating,” Talley said.

Gov. Carl Bailey. Photo courtesy of Washington Press Photo Bureau

With a life that spanned from 1894 to 1948, Bailey contributed a lot to the state. He created the Arkansas police force, and he introduced the first merit system in the South. Bailey was a prosecuting attorney and eventually became the attorney general and later a two-term governor of Arkansas from 1937 to 1941. Talley said she couldn’t find research on Bailey, and because she considered him an interesting person, she decided to further explore his life. She presented her thesis research on Dec. 8 to the last living child of Bailey, whose oral record of his father was recorded by the staff at the Center for Arkansas History and Culture, and who also donated articles on Bailey to the center. “I want to make sure that Carl Bailey is remembered for generations to come, and I know that without the donations from his son to the CAHC, I may have never had the chance,” Talley said. Talley gained archival experience at the ��Vlog��ýLR Center for Arkansas History and Culture as a graduate assistant and then later as an intern, learning about digitization and the digital archive experience. She then applied for the graduate assistant position at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library for a different opportunity. She assists the museum department in inventory, collections management, and exhibit installation. Talley is the first graduate student at ��Vlog��ýLR to be accepted into Pathways, a federal government internship program at Central High School National Historic Site in Little Rock, where she works through the National Park Service. At Central High, Talley is a guide, helping create and present programs, giving interpretive tours of the high school and surrounding area, and representing the site as a first-person interpreter at the front desk. She also creates distance learning lesson plans and helps produce educational videos that explain the cultural and historical buildings and areas around Central High School. After Talley goes through the Dec. 19 commencement ceremony, she plans to continue working for the National Park Service. She will switch to a full-time position at Fort McHenry in Baltimore in the new year. “I firmly believe that ��Vlog��ýLR helped me gain experiences in the public history field, including archives, interpretation, and museums,” she said. Talley said her time at ��Vlog��ýLR has been educational, informative, and experience driven. “I looked at many schools across the country before choosing ��Vlog��ýLR, and I know that, in the end, this was one of the best decisions of my life,” she said. To view Talley’s digital exhibit and read more on her research, .

Steamboat symposium to feature former congressman and others

Shanna Fitzgerald — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 14:55:30 +0000

The invention of Robert Fulton’s steamboat in 1807 is one of the defining moments in American history, a development that held ramifications for many states, Arkansas included. A current online exhibit exploring the steamboat’s influence on Arkansas culminates with a day-long educational symposium set for Nov. 5 at the Arkansas Studies Institute building. The event is free and open to the public. The exhibit and symposium, are projects hosted by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) in partnership with the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas. Among the featured symposium panelists are former U.S. Congressman Vic Snyder, who is serving on a panel discussing maritime policy and technology, as well as ��Vlog��ýLR History Professor Carl Moneyhon, who is contributing to the discussion on the transportation roles of steamboats. Other scheduled guests include documentary film producer Mike Marshall, who will contribute to the discussion of the explosion of the Sultana, near Marion, Ark., in 1865. The explosion killed 1,800 people, surpassing the death toll of the Titanic by 300, earning its spot among the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history. Most Americans weren’t aware of the disaster because the media’s attention was on the April 14 assassination of President Lincoln and the manhunt for his killer. Until it was surpassed by the railroad as the primary means of transportation after the Civil War, steamboats were a vital American resource, said Deborah Baldwin, associate provost of collections and archives. “The goal of the symposium is to not only educate audiences about the role steamboats played during the Civil War, but to also speak to the wider role of economic, cultural, and historical development along the Mississippi River,” Baldwin said. The virtual exhibit features historic documents, photographs, and works of art depicting steamboats, with the intent of examining the heritage of steamboats and their profound effect on the history and culture of Arkansas. Embedded within the exhibit are web pages with lesson plans and other educational materials for teachers. The materials are designed to meet requirements of state social studies frameworks. The Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the center a $13,876 grant to develop the exhibit and the related educational symposium. For more details on the symposium and to see the full list of scheduled speakers, or contact the center at 501.320.5780.

‘Human rights crisis’ community discussions open to public

Shanna Fitzgerald — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 14:16:38 +0000

Little Rock-area residents have the opportunity to hear from one of the founders of an organization working to stop migrant suffering and death on the U.S.-Mexico border. Chelsea Halstead, who heads the family advocacy program, will lead two community discussions as part of “Latino Americans: 500 Years of History,” a special project of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture. Halstead has worked with families searching for missing loved ones and forensic scientists to identify migrant remains. In 2012, she participated in a Department of Justice research study on the practices, protocols, and procedures for investigating the deaths of migrants. She will lead two community discussion sessions themed: “The human rights crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border”:

12:15 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the ��Vlog��ýLR Stella Boyle-Smith Auditorium
Noon Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Sturgis Hall,

Members of the public can register for the community discussions or other Latino Americans: 500 Years of History programming by clicking here. Other Latino Americans: 500 Years of History programming available at no charge to the public includes community discussions and screenings of — a six-episode award-winning documentary that chronicles Latinos in the U.S. from the 16th century to the present day.

6 p.m. Oct. 1 at ��Vlog��ýLR Student Services Center Auditorium: Film screening of ��“”
2 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Arkansas Arts Center: Community discussion and screening of “Foreigners in their Own Land (1565-1880),” the first episode from the documentary “Latino Americans”; Dr. Kristin Dutcher Mann, ��Vlog��ýLR associate professor of history and social studies education coordinator will lead the discussion
2 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Arkansas Arts Center: Screening of “Empire of Dreams (1880-1942),” the second episode from the “Latino Americans” documentary
2 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Arkansas Arts Center: Screening of “War and Peace (1942-1954),” the third installment in the six-part “Latino Americans” documentary
2 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Arkansas Arts Center: Screening of “The New Latinos (1946-1965),” the fourth episode of “Latino Americans”
2 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Arkansas Arts Center: Screening and community conversation, including the presentation of the fifth episode of “Latino Americans,” “Prejudice and Pride (1965-1980)”; community discussion will be led by doctoral candidate and visiting assistant professor Edma Delgado-Solórzano of the ��Vlog��ýLR Department of International and Second Language Studies
2 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Arkansas Arts Center: Screening of “Peril and Promise (1980-2000),” the sixth and final installment of “Latino Americans”

Latino Americans: 500 Years of History, a public programming initiative produced by the (NEH) and the (ALA), is part of an NEH initiative, “The Common Good: The Humanities in the Public Square.” ��Vlog��ýLR’s Department of International and Second Language Studies and its Office of Campus Life, as well as the and the , also partnered with the Center for Arkansas History and Culture.

Public invited to Latino history sessions

Shanna Fitzgerald — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 13:51:41 +0000

Latino history will be in the spotlight as part of free public events organized by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Center for Arkansas History and Culture and partner organizations. “Latino Americans: 500 Years of History,” a special project of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture, will use documentary films and community discussions to explore the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos who helped shape the United States. The program is centered on — a six-episode award-winning documentary that chronicles Latinos in the U.S. from the 16th century to the present day.

Chelsea Halstead

As part of the project, members of the public are invited to screenings of the documentary as well as community discussions led by Chelsea Halstead and ��Vlog��ýLR-affiliated speakers. Halstead heads the Family Advocacy Program at the Colibrí Center for Human Rights, an organization working to end migrant death and related suffering on the U.S.-Mexico border. The activities kick off during National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept. 15-Oct. 15 this year. Registration is open now. In addition to Halstead’s discussion of the human rights crisis on the Mexico border, community conversation topics will include: expansionism, Manifest Destiny, the Wild West, multiple wars (Mexican-American, Spanish-American and World War II), the rise of organized labor, the Great Depression, the post World War II boom, the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, globalization, and the effects of technology. Scheduled activities include:

2 p.m. Nov. 15, at the Arkansas Arts Center: Screening and community conversation, including the presentation of the fifth episode of “Latino Americans,” “Prejudice and Pride (1965-1980)”; community discussion will be led by doctoral candidate and visiting assistant professor Edma Delgado-Solórzano of the ��Vlog��ýLR Department of International and Second Language Studies
2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, at the Arkansas Arts Center: Screening of “Peril and Promise (1980-2000),” the sixth and final installment of “Latino Americans”

Past activities included:

6:30 p.m. Sept. 16 at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History: Film screening of “War and Peace (1942-1954),” the third installment of the six-part documentary “Latino Americans”
12:15 p.m. Sept. 22 at the ��Vlog��ýLR Stella Boyle-Smith Auditorium: Community discussion: “The human rights crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border,” led by Chelsea Halstead of , an organization she helped found in 2013
Noon Sept. 23 at Sturgis Hall, Clinton School of Public Service: Community discussion: “The human rights crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border,” led by Chelsea Halstead of Colibrí Center for Human Rights
6 p.m. Oct. 1 at ��Vlog��ýLR Student Services Center Auditorium: Film screening of ��“”
2 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Arkansas Arts Center: Community discussion and screening of “Foreigners in their Own Land (1565-1880),” the first episode from the documentary “Latino Americans”; Dr. Kristin Dutcher Mann, ��Vlog��ýLR associate professor of history and social studies education coordinator will lead the discussion
2 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Arkansas Arts Center: Screening of “Empire of Dreams (1880-1942),” the second episode from the “Latino Americans” documentary
2 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Arkansas Arts Center: Screening of “War and Peace (1942-1954),” the third installment in the six-part “Latino Americans” documentary
2 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Arkansas Arts Center: Screening of “The New Latinos (1946-1965),” the fourth episode of “Latino Americans”

Arkansas History and culture center reveals virtual exhibits

Shanna Fitzgerald — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 21:14:33 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture recently previewed its second virtual exhibit of the summer. A digital display featuring the restoration work on a World War II-era Japanese-American “relocation center” cemetery joins an exhibit on the influence steamboats had on Arkansas. Both are available for viewing now: This online exhibit explores the steamboat’s influence “… from its arrival at Arkansas Post in 1820 until it was surpassed by the railroad as the main means of transportation in the years after the Civil War.” The and the awarded the ��Vlog��ýLR Center for Arkansas History and Culture $13,876 to develop the exhibit and to host a related educational symposium. The symposium is set for November. ’s artwork plays a prominent role in the virtual display, which also features essays and historic photos and letters. A partnership between the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and led to the creation of the exhibit.

Preview of virtual exhibit on the Rohwer Relocation Center cemetery restoration

In the summer of 1942, Arkansas started housing Japanese-Americans forced to move from their West Coast homes during World War II. Months after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, amid fears that people of Japanese heritage might assist Japan in the war, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the secretary of war to institute military zones on the West Coast and to ban certain groups, including Japanese-Americans, from those areas. Many were displaced from their homes and taken to camps, mostly west of the Rocky Mountains, with two exceptions in Arkansas. Officials chose the Arkansas sites, in part, because they were isolated but had access to railroads. The Arkansas centers were named after nearby communities Jerome and Rohwer. The Rohwer site was one of three relocation centers in the country with cemeteries, and its cemetery was “the largest and most inventive.” Through the virtual exhibit, the Center for Arkansas History and Culture will document a National Park Service-funded project to restore the headstones, flower holders, paths and monuments at the Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Center Cemetery. To date, the monuments have been restored, and restoration work will now proceed to the headstones. The virtual exhibit will be expanded as work is completed to provide more detail on the restoration and background on the cemetery and the lives of those buried there. ��Vlog��ýLR’s Center for Arkansas History and Culture, located in the Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave., makes available an array of research resources, including papers of Arkansas Govs. Carl Bailey, Winthrop Rockefeller, Dale Bumpers, Frank White, and Jim Guy Tucker.

Grant to fund Latino American history programming for the public

Shanna Fitzgerald — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 21:30:31 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture soon will host a Latino Americans program that will be free and open to the public. ��Vlog��ýLR was one of about 200 recipients of “Latino Americans: 500 Years of History” grants selected from throughout the country by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association, as part of a competitive grant process. The $3,000 grant will help the center hold public programming that might include events such as film screenings, oral history initiatives, local history exhibits, or discussions about Latino history and culture. The center will partner with the ��Vlog��ýLR Department of International and Second Language Studies and the . A full event schedule will be available in August. To read more about the grant, visit the .

Archivist earns distinctions for historical contributions

Gloria King — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 15:05:00 +0000

An archivist with the ��Vlog��ýLR Center for Arkansas History and Culture in the Arkansas Studies Institute has earned two recent distinctions for his contributions to the field of history.

Dr. Colin Woodward, far right, reviews Johnny Cash archives for a recent exhibit.

Dr. Colin E. Woodward has won the Violet B. Gingles Award, which comes with a $500 prize and is sponsored by the Arkansas Historical Association. The award is given for the best manuscript article on any Arkansas history topic. Woodward earned the award for his article, “There’s a Lot of Things That Need Changin’: Johnny Cash, Winthrop Rockefeller, and Prison Reform in Arkansas.” He also won the F. Hampton Roy award, given by the Pulaski County Historical Association, for his article “The Days before Dyess: Johnny Cash’s Early Arkansas Roots.” The prize was $300 and awarded at the Little Rock Central High School Museum and Visitor Center. In April, Woodward will receive the Gingles Award at the annual meeting of the Arkansas Historical Association in West Memphis and also present a paper on Jim Guy Tucker and Vietnam. Woodward holds a doctorate in history from Louisiana State University, where he studied the Civil War era under the direction of prize-winning historian Charles W. Royster. He is in the early stages of writing a book about Cash’s days in Arkansas.

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