Author Archives: Scott

Unknown's avatar

About Scott

A cultural thinker with a life long interest in the arts and humanities: theatre, music, architecture, photography, history, urban planning, etc.

First Old State House Brown Bag Lunch Lecture today focuses on Capt. Robert Sanders Burke

Posted on by

oldstatehouseToday at noon at the Old State House Museum, Richard Hartness discusses “Local Hero: Captain Robert Sanders Burke, Home Guard Commander”

The new year’s first Brown Bag Lunch Lecture is presented by Richard Hartness and is the story of a south-central Arkansas farmer/surveyor, turned citizen-soldier, elected by his neighbors to lead them in their defensive quest to save their homes and farms from the ravages of enemy invasion. During the Civil War, Robert Sanders Burke was elected Captain of a group of Montgomery County mounted volunteers, initially called “Burke’s Company,” and by war’s end was mustered into Confederate service as Company “B.” Newton’s group, like many others, was composed primarily of boys too young for conscription and older men, who may have served on other units before joining local “home guard” militias.

Richard Hartness is the president of the Cross County Historical Society and is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Heritage Studies at Arkansas State University, where he is researching information on the first tenured Black professors in Arkansas’s colleges and universities. In February 2013, Hartness was honored by the Cross County Chamber of Commerce as their “Distinguished Citizen of the Year, 2012.”

YTOG featuring Matt Dickson on tap for Local Live at South on Main tonight

Posted on by

ytog_cropped.jpg.190x140_q60_cropJoin the Oxford American magazine at South on Main this week for the free Local Live music series, welcoming YTOG featuring Matt Dickson! Call ahead and make a reservation to ensure your seat.

YTOG is a group of Little Rock musicians that have been forming a bond over the last two years.  Little Rock stalwarts Ted Seibs (drums) and Walter Henderson (trumpet) anchor a band steeped in local musical culture and tradition.  Chris Michaels (bass), Matt Dickson (saxophone), and Chris Parker (piano) round out the quintet.

The music gets going at 7:30 p.m.  In order to assure a place to view them, show up early – grab a bite or a drink.

Former Ambassador to Iraq, South Korea to speak at Clinton School today

Posted on by

outpost-9781451685916_lgToday at noon at the Clinton School, Christopher Hill, former US Ambassador to Iraq will discuss his new book “Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy”

Ambassador Christopher Hill is the Dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Ambassador Hill is a former career diplomat, a four-time ambassador, nominated by three presidents, whose last post was as Ambassador to Iraq from April 2009 until August 2010. He was the first American Ambassador to Macedonia; Ambassador to Poland, where he also served in the depth of the cold war; Ambassador to South Korea; and chief disarmament negotiator in North Korea. From the wars in the Balkans to the brutality of North Korea to the endless war in Iraq, “Outpost” is the inside story from some of the most dangerous outposts of American diplomacy.

An “inside the room” memoir from one of our most distinguished ambassadors who—in a career of service to the country—was sent to some of the most dangerous outposts of American diplomacy. From the wars in the Balkans to the brutality of North Korea to the endless war in Iraq, this is the real life of an American diplomat.

Hill was on the front lines in the Balkans at the breakup of Yugoslavia. He takes us from one-on-one meetings with the dictator Milosevic, to Bosnia and Kosovo, to the Dayton conference, where a truce was brokered. Hill draws upon lessons learned as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon early on in his career and details his prodigious experience as a US ambassador. He was the first American Ambassador to Macedonia; Ambassador to Poland, where he also served in the depth of the cold war; Ambassador to South Korea and chief disarmament negotiator in North Korea; and Hillary Clinton’s hand-picked Ambassador to Iraq.

Hill’s account is an adventure story of danger, loss of comrades, high stakes negotiations, and imperfect options. There are fascinating portraits of war criminals (Mladic, Karadzic), of presidents and vice presidents (Clinton, Bush and Cheney, and Obama), of Secretaries of State (Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton), of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and of Ambassadors Richard Holbrooke and Lawrence Eagleburger. Hill writes bluntly about the bureaucratic warfare in DC and expresses strong criticism of America’s aggressive interventions and wars of choice.

Little Rock Look Back: Elijah A. More, LR 3rd Mayor

Posted on by

Mayor More Marker in MOOn January 20, 1799, Elijah A. More was born in Kentucky.  By the early 1830s, he was residing in Hempstead County and practicing law. Because of the court system being based in Little Rock, he spent a great deal of time in Pulaski County.

By January 1834, he had obviously established a permanent residence in Little Rock, because he was chosen as the third mayor.  He served from January 1834 until January 1835.  According to records, he apparently continued to alternate between residing near what is now Hope and living in Little Rock.  In 1839, his wife Caroline Owens More died and was buried in Little Rock. Though not originally buried at Mount Holly (it did not open until 1843), she is now buried there.

In 1840, More was the subject of a court case before the Arkansas Supreme Court resulting from actions he had taken as an executor of an estate and subsequently as Pulaski County Probate Judge.

By 1864, More resided in Missouri. There is a record of him swearing a loyalty oath to the Governor of Missouri in that year (presumably in response to actions associated with the Civil War).

He died on April 15, 1878 and is buried in Columbia Cemetery in Columbia, Missouri.

Susan Eisenhower discusses energy policy at the Clinton School this evening

Posted on by

SE-forwebIn 1952, General Dwight Eisenhower visited Little Rock while campaigning for the presidency.  Tonight, one of his grandchildren visits Little Rock on a different type of campaign.  Susan Eisenhower will be speaking at the Clinton School discussing “Energy Infrastructure and Energy Security.”

Susan Eisenhower is the CEO and Chairman of The Eisenhower Group, Inc., a Washington D.C.-based consulting company that provides strategic counsel on business development, public affairs, and communications for Fortune 500 companies around the world.

She currently serves on MIT’s Energy Initiative Advisory Board, as the co-chair of the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Advisory Board and is on the steering committee of the Energy Future Coalition and its Americans for Clean Energy Grid. The granddaughter of President Dwight Eisenhower, Susan has extensive knowledge of the energy industry and is a frequent speaker and author on public policy matters related to energy and national security.

This is a return visit to Little Rock for Ms. Eisenhower. In 2007, she was present for the activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School.

“Young and African-American in 2015” is topic of panel at Clinton School this evening

Posted on by

Clinton-School-of-Public-Service-LogoThe Clinton School and the Clinton School’s Center on Community Philanthropy are hosting a panel discussion: “Young and African-American in 2015″ this evening, Monday, January 19th at 6 p.m. to commemorate the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

This timely discussion follows the deaths of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fl.; Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.; Eric Garner in New York City; and New York City police officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.

Panelists include Clinton School students Quiana Brown; Melvin Clayton; Akaylah Jones; and Clinton School alum Jonathan Dunkley. Brown is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University and has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Texas; Clayton is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and interned with the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, D.C.; Jones graduated from Henderson State University and served with AmeriCorps; Dunkley grew up in Florida and graduated from Philander Smith College where he was Student Body President. Dunkley is currently the Director of Operations at the Clinton School. Clinton School faculty Dr. Christina Standerfer and Dr. Charlotte Williams will co-moderate.

 

Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center hosts a day of service

Posted on by

mtcc mlkIn honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is hosting its annual MLK Challenge today.

The MLK Challenge is a service program designed to engage youth ages 12-18 in volunteerism with a full day of service projects that challenge them mentally and socially. Participants will travel to various community sites including Little Rock Summer of Solutions, Millennium Adult Day Care, Oakland Fraternal, Helping Hand of GLR, and Dunbar Community Gardens to complete a range of service projects. Participants must register prior to the event.

For more information, call Elvon Reed at 501-683-3592.