Ten black Arkansans became part of the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail during a Feb. 1 induction ceremony in Central Arkansas Library System's Ron Robinson Theater downtown. The event was presented jointly by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies and the Clinton School of Public Service as part of the Legacies & Lunch series, sponsored in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council.
Butler Center director David Stricklin greeted guests, outlined the program and reminded everyone that "every month is black history month at the Butler Center." Gov. Asa Hutchinson observed during his remarks that "our civil rights history is critically important for each generation of Arkansans."
The 10 deceased inductees were each represented onstage by a living relative or community leader: William Wallace Andrews, by the Rev. Ronnie Miller Yow; Scott Winfield Bond, by Brian Gregory; John E. Bush, by John E. Bush IV; Walter "Wiley" Jones, by LaVerne Bell-Tolliver; Chester W. Keatts, by John Graves; Josephine Pankey, by Nancy Lott and Regina Norwood; Robert Lee Hill, by Patricia Kienzle; John H. Johnson, by Janis F. Kearney; William "Sonny" Walker, by Alyson Walker; and Sue Cowan Williams, by Eunice Thrasher. Biographical vignettes of each inductee were read by institute director John Kirk of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, which oversees the Civil Rights Heritage Trail.
The second half of the program consisted of civil-rights-theme songs delivered by Tonya Leeks, David Ashley and the Dunbar Middle School Singers. Afterward, attendees gathered in the lobby for refreshments.
Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail inductees are remembered with bronze markers on the sidewalk outside the Old State House Museum.
-- Story and photos by Helaine R. Williams
High Profile on 02/12/2017