Friday, May 12, 2017

Black History Commission of Arkansas and Arkansas State Archives announce symposium

The Black History Commission of Arkansas and the Arkansas State Archives will be hosting a symposium on Sat., June 10, in Meeting Room 4A-400 on the fourth floor of the Multi Agency Complex Building behind the State Capitol, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., Department of Arkansas Heritage Director Stacy Hurst announced today.  The symposium’s theme, Jim Crow Goes to War: Race Relations in World War I Arkansas, features speakers, Carla Coleman, Dr. Brian Mitchell, Dr. Randy Findley, and Grif Stockley.

Topics include A Soldiers Life in the Jim Crow South; To Rid the World of Parentheses: Arkansas Soldiers (Colored) and World War I; Charles Hillman Brough: Woodrow Wilson Wanna-be and the Elaine Massacre; and Who Knew: She Served in the Red Cross.

The seminar is free to attend but registration is required. The deadline for registration will be Mon., June 5. Registration is limited, so be sure to make reservations soon.  Check-in will begin at 9 a.m. on June 10. Teachers can earn up to four professional development hours through attendance.  Lunch will be provided.

The mission of the Black History Commission of Arkansas is to collect materials pertaining to African American history for the Arkansas State Archives, to encourage research of the state's African American history, and to cooperate with the Arkansas Department of Education to develop materials that support the teaching of African American history in our public schools.

The Arkansas State Archives is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and is responsible for collecting and maintaining the largest collection of historical materials on Arkansas in the world.  The State Archives has two branch locations; the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives is located in Powhatan and the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives is located in Washington.

Other agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage include the Arkansas Arts Council, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, and the Historic Arkansas Museum.

For more information about the symposium or to register, email events.archives@arkansas.gov or call 501-682-6900.