2 honorees to receive Legend Among Us award
Author Jason Irby, a Jefferson County native, will present the sixth annual Arkansas Heritage Celebration of Black History Month on Saturday.
Due to the coronavirus and protocols of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the program isn’t open to the public. Interviews will be conducted with the Legend Among Us recipients and guests, and those presentations will be broadcast at a later date, according to a news release from Stuff in the Bluff website.
Two individuals who have made history in Arkansas will be honored with a Legend Among Us award — Otis Kirkland and Crystal Young-Haskins.
Kirkland, a native of Jefferson County and son of sharecropper parents, became a well-known photographer and philanthropist in the Little Rock area and across the state.
Young-Haskins became the first African American female in the Little Rock Police Department’s history to hold the rank of assistant chief of police and has
made strides to champion women in law enforcement throughout Arkansas, according to the release.
2021 LEGEND AMONG US AWARD RECIPIENTS OTIS KIRKLAND
Kirkland was born in 1945 in Sherrill. He was the third of 14 children. He attended public school in Altheimer and graduated in 1963. Seeking a better life, and upon advice from his mother, he left home immediately following graduation and moved to Little Rock where he got his first job, which paid $32 a day.
In May 1966, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in Mannheim, Germany. It was during his stint in the Army that he received his training as a photographer. In 1968, he received an honorable discharge from the Army and returned to Little Rock, where with the money he had saved and the assistance of three mentors — Dr. Jerry Jewel, Dr. Worthy Springer, and Dr. M.A. Jackson — he opened his first photography studio in the Central Building on West Ninth Avenue.
He later moved to the Village Square and began networking with other organizations, including the Economic Opportunity Agency, G.W. Carver YMCA, the Little Rock School District, the Arkansas Beauticians Association, and Arkansas Baptist, Shorter and Philander Smith colleges, as well as Anderson Taekwondo Studios.
During the past 51 years as a photographer, Kirkland has covered weddings, graduations, family reunions, parades, family and personal portraits and school photo IDs. In 1991, because he never had a photo of himself with his mother or father, he sponsored free photos of children with their parents on Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Kirkland’s work as a photographer has also taken him to other states, including California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
He has supported the Little Rock community through his work and involvement in local politics. He was elected and served as Pulaski County justice of the peace, District 7, from 1986 to 1990. He also ran for Arkansas lieutenant governor in 1990. Kirkland was a co-founder of “Stop the Violence” and a C.O.P.E. board member. He was also a supporter of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission and sponsored Black Santa in Little Rock for several years. In September 2000, Kirkland was licensed and ordained as a bishop in Pulaski County.
Kirkland is also an accomplished cook, having established and manned food trucks at Dunbar Junior High School and throughout the city. As part of his community service efforts, he has appeared on local television and radio programs, hosting a program entitled, “Tell It Like It Is.” Kirkland has received more than 50 awards for his community service and philanthropy.
He is the father of seven children and continues to reside in Little Rock, according to the release.
CRYSTAL YOUNG-HASKINS
Assistant Chief YoungHaskins is a native of Central Arkansas and a 1999 graduate of North Pulaski High School. She spent the majority of her early years with family in the communities of Kerr, McAlmont, and Jacksonville. She grew up in a blended family of seven children where hard work and spirituality were the standard. She is the mother of two young men and a member of New Hope Baptist Church at North Little Rock.
Young-Haskins is a 15-year veteran of the Little Rock Police Department. She began her law enforcement career with the department in 2006 and has since been promoted through the ranks to assistant chief of police serving as bureau commander for the Field Services Bureau.
She became the first African American female in the department’s history to hold the rank of assistant chief of police. Young-Haskins has led in various commander capacities in patrol, administration and investigations for the past seven years. She led several units awarded with Unit Commendations and the Overall Crime Reduction Award in 2019 for performance.
She holds a master of education in adult education and bachelor of science in criminal justice with an emphasis on law enforcement administration from Park University (Parkville, Mo). She is a graduate of the 2014 International Association of Chiefs of Police Women’s Leadership Institute and the 265th Session FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., where she earned a graduate certificate in law enforcement leadership from the University of Virginia in 2016.
She has also obtained several law enforcement certifications in instructor development, victim advocacy, and forensic interviewing. She is a member of the International Association of Chief of Police, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and FBI National Academy Alumni Association.
Young-Haskins was selected as a recipient of the 2020 International Association of Chief of Police 40 Under 40 Award. She is currently enrolled in the Arkansas Certified Public Manager Program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.