STILL RISING

Museums and historic sites showcase enduring legacy of black Arkansans

Museums and historic sites showcase enduring legacy of black Arkansans

Now won’t you hear me singin’ Hear the words that I’m saying

So begins “Rock Me,” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe of Cotton Plant, Arkansas, whose energetic guitar rifts and fiery vocals set the stage for 1950s rock ’n’ roll. Her work is one example of the ways in which African-Americans have impacted the history of the state and world.

“Black history is Arkansas history,” said Christina Shutt, executive director of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock. “You can’t really understand Arkansas history without understanding the unique contributions that African-Americans have brought to the state.”

Since the beginning of European settlement in Arkansas, black hands have shaped both the physical and cultural landscape. Here are a few places where visitors can learn more about the history and influence of AfricanAmericans in the area.

MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER

Housed in an on-site replica of the 1913 Mosaic Templars of America headquarters, which burned down in 2005, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock works to “preserve, interpret and celebrate AfricanAmerican history and culture in Arkansas,” the center’s mission states.

In addition to providing information about the fraternal organization, the center offers exhibits about segregation and desegregation, the civil-rights movement in Arkansas and West Ninth Street, which was once the heart of Little Rock’s black business district.

The museum also houses temporary exhibits and the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, which includes prominent inductees such as author Maya Angelou, attorney Scipio Jones and John Johnson, founder of Ebony and Jet magazines.

LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

Nine black students made history in 1957, when Gov. Orval Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from entering Little Rock Central High School. Despite protests and harassment, the Little Rock Nine eventually reached their classrooms, and the Central High Crisis became symbolic of the strife surrounding desegregation efforts throughout the South.

Now a National Historic Site, the school continues operations while paying homage to its past. The site offers a commemorative garden, a visitor center and the Civil Rights Educator Institute.

Also notable is the historic Magnolia/ Mobil Service Station at the corner of Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive and Park Street, which many reporters used as an improvised office during the crisis. The Little Rock Nine are also memorialized at the Arkansas State Capitol with Testament, a sculpture by John and Cathy Deering.

DELTA CULTURAL CENTER

Historic tunes reach new ears at the Delta Cultural Center, which explores the history of the east Arkansas Delta and its people. The Delta Sounds exhibit chronicles the lives of such prominent black musicians as Tharpe, Sonny Boy Williamson, Louis Jordan and Roberta Martin.

Guests can also learn about the area’s history through the Civil War in the Delta and A Heritage of Determination exhibits. In addition, the museum hosts changing exhibits such as Songs From the Field, which explores how slaves transcended oppression through music.

The Delta Cultural Center is also home to a radio studio where visitors can watch live broadcasts of the historic King Biscuit

Time radio show. The center also hosts special events, such as the King Biscuit Blues Festival, the Arkansas Delta Family Gospel Fest and the Front Porch Blues Bash.

THE UZURI PROJECT

In 1997, a group from Hot Springs collected photographs and stories about the city’s African-American history as part of a Black History Month project. The temporary display morphed into a permanent exhibit that now includes more than 1,500 photos, documents and artifacts.

The undertaking led to the creation of People Helping Others Excel By Example, which interprets local history and helps preserve the city’s black historic sites, including the John L. Webb House and the Pleasant Street Historic District.

P. H. O. E. B. E. also directs the Uzuri Project Youth Leadership Institute, which teaches teens to interview and collect oral history, in addition to developing participants’ leadership skills.

ELAINE LEGACY CENTER

Nearly a century ago, violence devastated the African- American community in Phillips County during the Elaine Massacre. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, the conflict started with a shootout at a meeting during which black sharecroppers hoped to organize for better cotton prices and ended with a white mob killing an unknown number of black residents.

Ultimately, 12 black men were arrested and sentenced to death. The Elaine Twelve were released after a lengthy trial in which they were defended by attorney Scipio Jones.

Visitors can learn the whole story at the Elaine Legacy Center, which opened last year. The center provides information not only about the Elaine Massacre and its aftermath, but also about civil-rights work in the area. A memorial for the victims of the massacre is also under construction in Helena.

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