Library to host Black History Month Exhibit
In honor of Black History Month, the Gateway Community Association is exhibiting information and pictures on the history makers of Hot Springs, both past and present, at the Garland County Library, 1427 Malvern Ave.
The exhibit highlights the lives of former City Alderman Kenneth Adair, who published the weekly newspaper The Arkansas Citizen; Mamie Phipps Clark, a Hot Springs native, who along with her husband, Kenneth, became the first African-Americans to obtain their doctoral degrees in psychology from Columbia University; and the Entre Nous Club, a local social organization.
“The Clarks were influential to the Civil Rights movement and their expertise allowed them to testify as expert witnesses in several school desegregation cases, including Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954,” according to their biography posted on the American Psychological Association website.
The exhibit also highlights the contributions of Adair, owner/founder of The Citizen, later known as The Arkansas Citizen, a weekly newspaper that provided national and local news to the African-American communiStephen
ty from late 1957/1958 to 1987. Adair was also a Hot Springs city alderman from 1972 to 1985 and is the namesake for Adair Park located in downtown Hot Springs, the library said in a news release.
Also on display is the story of the oldest operating African-American women’s social club in Garland County, the Entre Nous Club, which was formed in 1937. The club is known for promoting charitable, civic, and social activities where members focus on their own wellbeing and instill a greater sense of purpose for the community, the release said.
“The club was known for teaching their members everything they would need to become an admired, well-mannered woman,” it said.
On display are comments from its president, Elaine Jones, a Hot Springs city director, and from former president, Emma Stewart.
The exhibit includes two enlarged cover pages from The Arkansas Citizen newspaper depicting news of the day and lifestyle of the Pleasant Street Neighborhood, photographs of Clark’s doll test, and an article about the Entre Nous Club.
The display is courtesy of Jean Lacefield and the Gateway Community Association.
Visit http://www.gclibrary. com or call the library at 501623-4161 for more information.