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| Poster of Bass Reeves, created as part of Black History Month by MTCC |
We recognize the astounding contributions African Americans
have made and look forward to making that history readily available. Researchers
can find information about African American history in Arkansas, including
photographs, in our digital collections at archives.arkansas.gov or can visit us
on location to see scrapbooks, photos, records, artifacts and more.
Events celebrating black history and culture will be
underway throughout February as part of Black History Month.
The Black History Commission of Arkansas and Arkansas State
Archives kicked off the month with a free symposium on “African American
Soldiers in Wartime.” The Arkansas State Archives’ traveling exhibit, “Arkansas
African American Legislators 1868-1893,” will be on display at the Brackett
Library at Harding University from Feb. 3 to 26.
Meanwhile, our sister agency, the Mosaic Templars Cultural
Center, has created historical
posters featuring prominent African American Arkansans. More events are available on the MTCC
Facebook page.
Black
History Month is an important time to reflect and celebrate African
American history and culture. The celebration began as a one-week event in
1926. By the late 1960s, it had become a monthlong observance on college
campuses. President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in
1976. Since then, every U.S. president has officially designated February as
Black History Month.
Make sure to check out the Black History Month posters on
MTCC’s website. For more information about African American history in Arkansas
or on how to start a genealogy research project, contact the Arkansas State
Archives at 501-682-6900 or state.archives@arkansas.gov.
