Arkansas highlights sites and events for Black History Month

Arkansas highlights sites and events for Black History Month

Still plenty to see and do this month

From the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism

LITTLE ROCK — February is Black History Month, and Arkansas has a prominent place on the stage of black heritage and culture. Arkansas Tourism has compiled a list of sites and events that are significant pieces of black history in Arkansas.

• Northwest Arkansas Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville will host a Gallery Conversation on Saturday, February 23 from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Early American Art Gallery near George Inness’ An Old Roadway with the NWA Racial Justice Memorial Project about how they created a local initiative to honor lynching victims in Northwest Arkansas. Members of the project will lead a discussion on how they worked with Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative to enlighten the community about the project and the process of getting those moments memorialized.

• The Mississippi Delta The John H. Johnson Cultural and Educational Museum in Arkansas City tells the story of Arkansas native John H. Johnson, who created EBONY and JET magazines, Fashion Fair cosmetics, and was the first African-American on the Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans. The museum, built with wood from Johnson’s boyhood home, features photographs, videos, and items from his life. The museum is a joint effort by Arkansas City and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

In Helena, Freedom Park tells the story of escaped freedom seekers who followed Union troops into the city in July 1862 or came to Helena as word of emancipation spread through the Delta. The exhibits follow the journey of the African-Americans from slavery to freedom.

• Central Arkansas Cultural Heroes, a collection of seven larger-than-life clay sculptures will debut on Saturday, Feb. 23 as part of the Clinton Presidential Center’s Black History Month celebration. Each sculpture was crafted by Nashville-based artist Alan LeQuire and represents a musician who influenced the Civil Rights movement. The exhibit will be displayed on the Clinton Center’s Sky Terrace and is free and open to the public.

The Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock will host “Making History: African-American Mayors in Arkansas,” a conversation with four African-American mayors in the state on Monday, Feb. 25 at 12 p.m.

Little Rock is also home to the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. The visitor center at 2120 W. Daisy Gatson Bates Drive depicts this moment in history through exhibits and photos. A statue at the Arkansas State Capitol pays homage to the Little Rock Nine, with a quote from each on individual bronze plaques.

• Southwest Arkansas At the Garland County Library in Hot Springs, the Gateway Community Association is exhibiting information and pictures highlighting the lives of: former City Alderman Kenneth Adair who published the weekly newspaper The Arkansas Citizen; Mamie Phipps Clark and her husband Kenneth who became the first African-Americans to obtain their doctoral degrees in psychology from Columbia University; and the Entre Nous Club, a local social organization.

In Hot Springs, plans are underway to restore the former John Lee Webb house. Webb was a local African-American contractor and philanthropist who helped build The Pleasant Street Historic District, the largest African-American historic district in Arkansas.

Visit www.Arkansas.com to find more ways to celebrate Black History Month.