Little Rock notebook
AETN documentary examines district
The documentary Dream Land: Little Rock’s West 9th
Street will be screened at a free event Friday.
The screening will begin at 7 p.m. at the Ron Robinson Theater at 100 River Market Ave. Doors will open at 6 p.m.
The Arkansas Educational Television Network created the documentary about the once-vibrant black business and entertainment district in Little Rock, home to Taborian Hall and the Dreamland Ballroom.
A news release said the film traces the district’s “rich history from its emergence in the 1800s to present day — the film will relive West 9th Street’s glory days and uncover how urban renewal, the Eisenhower Interstate System, and more impacted its future.”
Tickets to the free event can be reserved online at tinyurl.com/LRdocumentarytickets.
Street corner clock working once again
The antique Cave’s clock on the corner of East Capitol Avenue and Main Street is ticking again after years of being out of service.
The Downtown Little Rock Partnership paid for the clock to be fixed last week. Its blue neon lighting is also working.
“We are very excited to be able to restore this piece of downtown Little Rock’s history to its former glory,” Executive Director Gabe Holmstrom said.
Thomas Cave, owner of Cave’s Jewelers, is the namesake of the clock. The store opened on East Capitol Avenue in the early 1930s.
Clinton School sets 4 public programs
The Clinton School of Public Service is hosting four public programs this week at Sturgis Hall in downtown Little Rock.
On Monday, a talk is to be given at noon by Frank Norris, a historian with the National Park Service’s National Trails office.
The office oversees the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. Norris will talk about The Negro Motorist Green Book, written by a New York postal worker in 1936 as a guide to help black people navigate hotels and other businesses they could access on long-distance trips, such as road trips on Route 66.
Victor Green had said he wrote the book to help black people avoid “embarrassing moments.”
On Wednesday, a 6 p.m. discussion is planned on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. It is titled “ADHD Nation: Children, Doctors, Big Pharma, and the Making of an American Epidemic.”
Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist Alan Schwarz will talk about the rise of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as a “cultural and medical phenomenon.” A book signing will follow.
On Thursday, the cast and crew of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s Jar the Floor production will give a noon talk about the play.
Also on Thursday, The Women’s Foundation of Arkansas will release its latest publication, Changing the Story: Blueprint for Change, at a 5:30 p.m. event at the school.
The events will all take place at the Clinton School’s Sturgis Hall, 1200 President Clinton Ave.
To reserve a seat for any of the events, interested parties may email publicprograms@ clintonschool.uasys.edu or call (501) 683-5239.
The programs also will be streamed live on the school’s website.