Off the Grid: Nature, Black Power, & Freedom on the AR Frontier is topic of today’s CALS Legacies & Lunch

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Scott

Image may contain: tree, outdoor and water Legacies & Lunch kicks off 2020 with a program today at 12 noon, entitled “Off the Grid: Nature, Black Power, & Freedom on the AR Frontier.”

Through images, stories, and botanical specimens from the field, historian Story Matkin-Rawn and ecologist Theo Witsell will share their research on the challenges of frontier life and use of wild resources among newly freed African Americans in the Natural State following the Civil War.

Story Matkin-Rawn serves as vice-president of the Arkansas Historical Association and is an associate professor of history at the University of Central Arkansas, where she teaches courses on Arkansas, Southern, and Civil Rights history. She received her PhD in history from the University of Wisconsin in 2009. Her article “The Great Negro State of the Country: Arkansas’s Reconstruction and the Other Great Migration,” which appeared in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly in 2013, won the Violet B. Gingles Prize. This presentation on African American life on the Arkansas frontier is part of her current project, a book manuscript titled “A New Country: An African American History of the South’s Last Frontier, 1865–1940.”

Theo Witsell is the ecologist and chief of research for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, a division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. Prior to that, he served as a botanist for the agency for nineteen years, researching and protecting rare species and habitats across the state. His research interests include the historical ecology of Arkansas and the intersections of human history and our natural heritage.

Legacies & Lunch is a free monthly program of CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies about Arkansas related topics. For more information, please contact 320-5744.

19 LR Cultural Touchstones in 2019. Part 3: CALS Bobby Roberts Library, RBG and Nina T, and 15th anniversary of Clinton Center and Clinton School

Posted on December 30, 2019 by Scott

On the penultimate day of the year (and the 2010s decade), a look at numbers 8 through 10 of the 19 Little Rock cultural milestones in 2019.

8 – Dedication of the CALS Bobby Roberts Library. Though the name change had been approved months earlier, there had never been a formal naming event for the Central Arkansas Library System Bobby L. Roberts Library. In April 2019, in conjunction with the inaugural Maurice Smith Distinguished Lecture, CALS rectified it. In the presence of Roberts and many longtime library supporters, President Bill Clinton gave remarks at the event which was a tribute to his former staffer. (Roberts was on Clinton’s gubernatorial staff.)

The event took place in the CALS Ron Robinson Theatre, a component of the Arcade Building, which is adjacent to the Roberts Library. The two edifices make up the Library Square complex which rose in phases during Roberts’ more than two-decade tenure as director of CALS. Formally known as the CALS Bobby L. Roberts Library of Arkansas History & Art, it opened in 2009 as the Arkansas Studies Institute. The building consists of a new portion as well as the repurposing of the Geyer & Adams and the Porbeck & Bowman buildings. It houses the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, CALS’s Arkansas history department, meeting rooms, offices, and five galleries that feature art depicting the state or created by artists living in or from Arkansas.

In HIS remarks that evening, Roberts was his usual self-effacing persona who used his time to pay tribute to current and former CALS staff and trustees as well as to his family and his colleagues from his Clinton administration days. In so doing, Roberts demonstrated why the naming of the facility in his honor was appropriate with it being a home to historic documents and art as well as a place to facilitate conversations.

9 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Nina Totenberg. The Kumpuris Distinguished Lecture which took place on September 3, 2019, set records for Clinton School, Clinton Center, and Clinton Foundation programming.

Due to overwhelming ticket demand, the event’s locale was shifted first to UA Little Rock’s Jack Stephens Center and eventually the then-Verizon Arena. Before a crowd of an estimated 13,000 (with probably that many on the waiting list for tickets), Justice Ginsburg conversed with NPR journalist Nina Totenberg.

Following comments from Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford and Clinton Foundation Executive Director Stephanie S. Streett, the pair were introduced by President Bill Clinton. In his remarks, he noted that only one individual present had appointed her to the U.S. Supreme Court, and that only one person present had voted to confirm her (U. S. Senator David Pryor, who was in attendance). The crowd contained a who’s who of the Arkansas judicial and legal community as well as many state and local political officials from across the political spectrum.

Justice Ginsburg spent a great deal of time discussing her affection for two former colleagues who were her polar opposite on the court – Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Antonin Scalia. It was a reminder for the audience of the importance of being able to strongly disagree on political beliefs but to be able to value the person and treasure their friendship.

(And as someone who met Nina Totenberg in the late 1980s, it was remarkable to realize that she has not aged. At all. She obviously has a painting in her attic which IS aging.)

10 – 15 years of the Clinton Presidential Center and Clinton School of Public Service November 18, 2019, marked the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center. This year also marked the 15th anniversary of the U of A Clinton School for Public Service.

Since opening its doors 15 years ago, the Clinton Center has welcomed 4.8 million visitors from around the world, and 430,000 students and educators have been inspired through educational and civic engagement opportunities. Likewise, the Clinton School has featured hundreds of speakers which have been seen by hundreds of thousands of attendees.

In conjunction with the 15th anniversary, the Clinton Foundation hosted the Domestic Policy Conference on Economic Inclusion and Growth. It brought together leaders and bipartisan representatives from state and local municipalities, nonprofits, and the philanthropic and private sectors to discuss the evolution and successes of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), proven approaches for urban and rural economic revitalization, supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses, and how to further economic growth in underserved communities.

Learn about Arkansas in Modern America at the December CALS Butler Center Legacies & Lunch program today at noon

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Scott

Dr.-Ben-Johnson-Ark-Studies-Endowed-Professor-300x196 Today (December 4) at noon, the Central Arkansas Library System’s Butler Center’s monthly Legacies & Lunch program will feature Dr. Ben Johnson discussing Arkansas in Modern America.

Ben Johnson will discuss the topics and themes in his book Arkansas in Modern America Since 1930, published in August by the University of Arkansas Press. This second edition is a comprehensive revision of and elaboration on the first edition, which was published in 2000. Johnson incorporates recent scholarship to extend the analysis of economic, social, and cultural developments in Arkansas into the present day.

Ben Johnson is the John G. Ragsdale, Jr. and Dora J. Ragsdale Professor of Arkansas Studies at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. In addition to Arkansas in Modern America, he has published Fierce Solitude: A Life of John Gould Fletcher and John Barleycorn Must Die: The War Against Drink in Arkansas, each published by the University of Arkansas Press.

Legacies & Lunch is a free monthly program of CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies about Arkansas related topics. Program are generally held from noon to 1 pm on the first Wednesday of the month in the Main Library’s Darragh Center. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. A library parking discount is available upon request. For more information, or to share ideas for future programs, please contact Heather Zbinden, 320-5744, hzbinden@cals.org.

CALS Legacy & Lunch explores New Madrid Earthquake at noon today

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Scott

Learn about “The New Madrid Earthquakes and Their Aftermath in Quapaw Country, 1811-1833” today (11/6) at 12 noon at the CALS Butler Center’s Legacies and Lunch program. It will take place in the CALS Main Library.

The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811–1812 were the strongest earthquakes in the North American interior in the last six centuries. Across the vast expanse of land the seismic events affected, people struggled to address the earthquakes’ religious meaning and material impact. This talk focuses on the earthquakes in Quapaw country, where the events featured in recorded Quapaw oral histories and became a factor in Quapaw territorial dispossession through the New Madrid Relief Act of 1815.

Jonathan Hancock is an associate professor of history and environmental studies at Hendrix College in Conway. He has published work in the Journal of the Early Republic, The Princeton Companion to Atlantic History, and Warring for America: Cultural Contests in the Era of 1812 (University of North Carolina Press, 2017) and has held research fellowships from the Bright Institute at Knox College, the Huntington Library, the Newberry Library, and the University of North Carolina Royster Society of Fellows. He is currently completing a book, Convulsed States: Earthquakes, Prophecy, and the Remaking of Nations in Early America, and beginning research for a new book project, “The Indigenous Lowcountry: A 4,000-Year History of Native Communities near Charleston.”

Legacies & Lunch is a free monthly program of CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies about Arkansas related topics. Program are held from noon to 1 pm on the first Wednesday of the month. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. A library parking discount is available upon request

CALS Announces Organizational Changes at Roberts Library

Posted on October 6, 2019 by Scott

This spring, the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) unveiled a new strategic plan effective through 2022. The CALS strategic plan describes the library system’s mission, core values, and vision while also identifying goal areas where CALS will direct its energy and resources over the next several years.

The Roberts Library is CALS special collections branch composed of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Genealogy Department, and the Galleries at Library Square.

Beginning October 1, two key changes took place at Roberts Library in alignment with the strategic plan: Director of the Roberts Library David Stricklin will become Director of Strategic Partnerships & Community Engagement for the CALS system as a whole, where he will help guide the implementation of the Strategic Plan and strengthen relationships with governments, elected officials, community leaders and centers of influence; and Glenn Whaley will serve as Manager of the Roberts Library, expanding her role as operational leader for the past five years.

“The staffing changes will allow the library to benefit more from the unique gifts of two talented leaders,” said CALS Executive Director Nate Coulter. “David will be invaluable in driving the strategic evolution of our organization, and Glenn has already demonstrated her organizational and management skills as second-in-command of the Roberts Library. She’ll be an excellent leader to continue the vital and important work being done by the Roberts Library team.”

The CALS strategic plan is the result of broad-based community input, executive team engagement, consultation from national library planning experts, and board review and approval. The plan outlines seven organizational goals in the areas of (1) Extending Community Connections, (2) Services and Collections, (3) Facilities and Spaces, (4) Resource Allocation and Integration, (5) Public Awareness and Marketing, (6) Resource Development, and (7) Organizational Culture.

CALS comes to the River Market on September 20, 1997

Posted on September 20, 2019 by Scott

On September 20, 1997, the Central Arkansas Library System debuted its new main library building. The building had previously been the Fones Brothers Warehouse building and was repurposed by the Polk Stanley Yeary architectural firm.

The grand opening festivities included storytellers for children throughout the day as well as various special activities. Linked balloons made to resemble bookworms greeted visitors to the front entrance.

The move and expansion were the dream of then-CALS Director Bobby Roberts. The previous library space had limited parking and was in a confined (and confining) space with no room for expansion.

To prepare for the move from the old location at 7th and Louisiana Streets, the library’s main branch had closed in July. They had to inventory the existing materials in anticipation of the move. The actual transport of the 250,000 books was accomplished in three 16-hour work days by the 65 member staff.

The project cost $13 million dollars, most of which came from a millage approved by voters. The 200 seat auditorium was funded by overdue book fines and areas for the employees were financed by a patron bequest.

At the time it opened, the fifth floor remained undeveloped.

Since September 1997, the fifth floor has been developed and CALS has ultimately developed over one city block in what is now known as Library Square.

First Meeting of the Women’s Emergency Committee – September 16, 1958

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Scott

Vivion Brewer, Adolphine Terry, and Pat House with an award presented to the WEC around the time the group disbanded.

On Tuesday, September 16, 1958, the first meeting of the Women’s Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools took place at the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House in downtown Little Rock. Fifty-eight women were in attendance at the initial meeting.

The group had been envisioned four days earlier, on September 12. At the time, Adolphine Fletcher Terry had invited Vivion Lenon Brewer and Velma Powell to her house to discuss the current school situation. Terry and Brewer were both daughters of former Little Rock mayors. They were frustrated with the stalemate that was taking place with the Little Rock School District, the State, and the Federal Government.

In a conversation about the group with her friend Arkansas Gazette editor Harry Ashmore, Mrs. Terry stated, “The men have failed, it’s time to call out the women.”

The same day the trio met, an immediate concern superseded their general discontent.

On September 12, Governor Faubus had signed several segregationist bills into law. One of them gave him the authority to temporarily close schools in order to keep the from being integrated. After signing the bills, he issued an order closing Little Rock’s four high schools. He set October 2 as the election day for Little Rock voters to ratify or reject the closing.

The closure of the schools and impending election, gave an urgency and an immediate focus for the WEC. The women sprung into action.

The way the election law was written, keeping the schools open would require a majority of all registered voters — not just those voting in the election. There were several other requirements written into the law that made it all but impossible to reject the closure. Nonetheless the WEC went to work. They wrote letters, made phone calls, made personal pleas, raised money, and placed newspaper ads.

Their need for a quick and efficient organization became even more paramount with the Governor moved the election forward to September 27. His public reason was to remove the uncertainty; but privately he was likely concerned that there was organized opposition.

Though the voters approved keeping the high schools closed, the WEC was undaunted. They continued to work throughout the 1958-59 school year in a variety of ways. They backed candidates in the December 1958 school board elections, and succeeded in getting three moderates elected. In May 1959, they were a crucial bloc in the campaign to recall of three segregationist school board members.

Following the reopening of the schools in 1959, the WEC continued to focus on social issues until disbanding in 1963.

The membership of the WEC was kept a secret. No official roll was kept. With a membership which swelled to over 1,300, obviously not all attended meetings at once. There were well organized phone trees which quickly got the word out to the membership. During elections, they would create files on all registered voters with codes for Saints, Sinners and Savable.

In an effort of intimidation (as if anyone could intimidate Adolphine Fletcher Terry), there were efforts to force the WEC to disclose membership lists. The officers and their legal counsel replied that there were no lists in existence, so there was nothing to disclose.

On March 13, 1998, the names of the WEC were made public for the first time when they were published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. This was done in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the year of the founding. Later in the year, the names were etched in glass in the solarium of the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House. (In the 1970s, the house was given by the family to the City of Little Rock for use by the Arkansas Arts Center.)

A ceremony at the house in October 1998 celebrated the 40th anniversary and the names permanently etched there. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton came back to Little Rock to deliver remarks at the ceremony.

Sara Murphy, a member of the WEC wrote a book about the organization which was published in 1997, shortly after her death. Around the same time, Sandra Hubbard produced a documentary called The Giants Wore White Gloves. On the 60th anniversary of the first WEC meeting, a sold out screening of the film was shown at the CALS Ron Robinson Theatre as a presentation of the Clinton School Speaker Series in conjunction with the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.

Little Rock Culture Vulture

Cultural events, places and people in the Little Rock area

Tag Archives: Butler Center for Arkansas Studies

Off the Grid: Nature, Black Power, & Freedom on the AR Frontier is topic of today’s CALS Legacies & Lunch

19 LR Cultural Touchstones in 2019. Part 3: CALS Bobby Roberts Library, RBG and Nina T, and 15th anniversary of Clinton Center and Clinton School

Learn about Arkansas in Modern America at the December CALS Butler Center Legacies & Lunch program today at noon

CALS Legacy & Lunch explores New Madrid Earthquake at noon today

CALS Announces Organizational Changes at Roberts Library

CALS comes to the River Market on September 20, 1997

First Meeting of the Women’s Emergency Committee – September 16, 1958

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