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

Kirk’s New Book Chapter Explores Sweet Willie Wine’s 1969 Walk Against Fear

John Hill — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 13:08:36 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock history professor has written a new book chapter that explores how Black activism in Arkansas changed between the Elaine Massacre in 1919 and Sweet Willie Wine’s Walk Against Fear in 1969. The chapter appears in a new book, “Race, Labor, and Violence in the Delta: Essays to Mark the Centennial of the Elaine Massacre,” which was published in May by the University of Arkansas Press. During the Walk Against Fear, Lance “Sweet Willie Wine” Watson, the leader of a Memphis Black power group called the Invaders, led a protest walk from West Memphis to Little Rock in August 1969. The walk mirrored a 1966 protest by James Meredith, the man who integrated the University of Mississippi. Meredith was shot and wounded during his march against fear across rural Mississippi. Watson’s protest brought much media attention to civil rights in Arkansas. “Watson said that it demonstrated African Americans could have free movement across Arkansas, that they could take a stand, and that they didn’t need to be afraid,” Kirk said. “The walk has become an iconic piece of Arkansas civil rights history. A lot of those Delta communities still carry the folklore of Sweet Willie Wine from 1969.” The chapter focuses on how government responses to Black activism changed over the 50 years between the Elaine Massacre and the Walk Against Fear. During the Elaine Massacre, Gov. Charles Brough called in 500 soldiers from Camp Pike to quell what was called an insurrection at the time, but the government response to the Walk Against Fear was quite different. “One of the interesting things about the march is how it was policed,” Kirk said. “During the Elaine Massacre, the governor mobilized federal troops that some claim only worsened the situation. Watson’s walk against fear was escorted by the police to make sure he wasn’t attacked. The state knew that would bring unwanted media attention. In some ways, the state’s role in policing the event was completely opposite to the Elaine Massacre. Watson even complimented the police for protecting the walkers.” Unlike the Elaine Massacre, Watson’s walk in Arkansas was highly publicized during the event and brought a lot of media attention to Eastern Arkansas. “In 1919, rural Arkansas was cut off from the rest of the world,” Kirk said. “In 1969, Watson started his march with a press conference. He knew that it was riskier for people to act against Black activists with the media watching. The state was aware of the potential negative media attention, so they policed those events quite differently. The role of the state in policing civil rights demonstrations is what changed the most between 1919 and 1969.” Even with police escorts, Watson’s march was not without conflict. In the small town of Hazen, residents blocked off entrances to the town and armed themselves with guns. The anticipated standoff did not occur when the residents found out that only a small number of people would be walking through their town. “The walk lasted three days, and it was different on each day,” Kirk said. “There were hundreds of walkers by the time it reached Little Rock. The citizens in Hazen barricaded the town and mobilized the gun club. They were prepared to hunker down and fight off what they believed was a horde of Black activists coming through town. It showed the fear that whites still had of Black activism in the Delta.” Now in his 80s, Watson, who is now known as Minister Suhkara Yahweh, remains an influential figure in Black activism. “I interviewed him in 2018 in Forrest City,” Kirk said. “Some of the people in the library there talked with him, and he was treated like a celebrity. There is also an award-winning poem that was based on the march. It is a psychologically powerful piece of Arkansas folklore. I wanted to research and investigate it and inscribe it into history on its 50th anniversary.”

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. “The 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 Edits Landmark New Book on Civil Rights Movement

John Hill — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 22:57:15 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor has edited a new book on the civil rights movement that uses primary sources to highlight its important themes, issues, and figures. Dr. John Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, edited “.” The book, which was released in 2020 by Wiley, one of the world’s leading academic publishers, is part of the Uncovering the Past series on American history. Focusing on documents, this volume offers a concise yet comprehensive analysis of the civil rights movement by covering both well-known and relatively unfamiliar texts. “There hasn’t been a new book that incorporates the most recent historiographical updates in a wide-ranging primary document collection in more than a generation,” Kirk said. The book contains 120 edited primary documents over 329 pages, each containing Kirk’s expert headnote introduction for context. It also includes an introductory essay by Kirk that provides an authoritative overview of recent developments in the field.

Dr. John Kirk edited “The Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader.”

“Historians encourage students to learn through primary documents,” Kirk said. “In an age of misinformation and disinformation, it’s important that we critically examine primary sources. Instead of just talking about an event, we can show students first-hand what key actors and organizations in the movement said in their own words. In this way, students can experience a more direct and immediate connection with the past.” The book provides a fascinating look at the civil rights movement from the 1940s into the modern era. “The focus of the book is mainly on the 1960s, which was a key decade for the civil rights movement,” Kirk said. “However, I start with a chapter on the origins of the movement and end with a chapter that examines the extensive legacies of the movement, including the current Black Lives Matters movement.” Kirk’s next book is a biography of Winthrop Rockefeller, who in 1966 was elected the first Republican governor of Arkansas in 94 years. The book will be published by the University of Arkansas Press this fall. “Rockefeller was governor during an important transitional period in Arkansas history,” Kirk said. “The book shows that he had a long history of working in race relations, even before coming to the state.”

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

Kirk’s New Book Chapter Explores Sweet Willie Wine’s 1969 Walk Against Fear

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

Kirk Edits Landmark New Book on Civil Rights Movement

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