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Explore Arkansas during Black History Month

Explore Arkansas during  Black History Month

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LITTLE ROCK —Arkansas has an important place on the stage of black heritage with history and culture that’s showcased through national sites, state cornerstones and other significant points of interest throughout the state.

In the national spotlight, Arkansas is part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, which is comprised of more than 100 attractions across 14 states, including sites from the civil rights era of the 1950s and 1960s. In the capital city, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site is the only active high school in the U.S. that is also a national historic site. This school was a major test of the Civil Rights I Act when nine African .

American students known as the Little Rock Nine integrated the all-white school. A visitor center across the street depicts this moment in history through exhibits. The Little Rock Nine Memorial, a statue on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol, now pays homage to the Little Rock Nine.

The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock is also on the trail and sits on the foundation of a cornerstone of African American heritage. The center, whose mission is to preserve the history of African Americans in Arkansas, is located in the middle of what was once a thriving black business district for Little Rock.

There were barbershops, restaurants, churches, doctors and lawyers, all on 9th Street. The center is located at the corner of 9th and Broadway.

Additional places to visit on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail can be found at civilright str ail. com/state/ arkansas. Plus, there are many other related sites and experiences in Arkansas outside of the trail that pay homage to black history.

Taborian Hall, a red brick building at 800 W.

9th St., was the cultural hub of the city’s black community, and is the last remaining original building of a historic black business district once known as “The Line.”

When it was built in 1916, it was headquarters for the Arkansas Chapter of the Knights and Daughters of the Tabor, a black fraternal organization. The third floor is home to the Dreamland Ballroom, which hosted many famous entertainers including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. Now the building is the headquarters of the business Arkansas Flag and Banner and the company is working to renovate Dreamland Ballroom. Tours highlighting the history of this building are available by the staff.

Current businesses in Arkansas also play a role.

For example, the Carpenter family is a story of African American success in Carpenter’s Produce is one of the most well-known produce spots in the state.

It is open year-round and has fresh homegrown vegetables of all kinds, fish, smoked meats and more.

They also provide produce for farmer’s markets and have locations in Pine Bluff and Little Rock.

Another longstanding store in Little Rock is K.

Hall and Sons, a blackowned business near Central High School. Founded as a produce store, it now also has a restaurant on site.

Outside Central Arkansas, there are many other sites, including the Eddie Mae Herron Center in Pocahontas, a museum and education center that is home to nearly 200 years of local African American history. The center is housed in the former St. Mary’s Church/Pocahontas Colored School, a one-room building built in the early 1900s and named for the woman who taught at the school.

Stamps is a small town that was the childhood home of author Maya Angelou. She wrote about the town in her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which received a National Book Award nomination. Angelou spent some of her childhood in Stamps in the home of her paternal grandmother, who ran the only African American general store in town. After Angelou’s passing, the city dedicated a city park and lake in her name.

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