More than 10,000 people, including many in Harrison, a community of 13,000, have signed a petition calling for the "White Pride Radio Station" billboard on the outskirts of town to be removed.
Their voices resonate loud and clear the level of disgust most residents have toward racism and racist attitudes. Harrison has been saddled for years, even nationally, with the unfair stigma of a racist community when that's far from its true nature.
Yes, this town still has a number of residents with bigoted attitudes. Name me one city that doesn't. But this community in which I reside as a whole is comprised of good and fair-minded people who believe strongly in living and letting live.
Today, after ridding the surrounding highways of four of what has been five such racially offensive billboards by one group, this petition demands the final one come down. The locals by and large were offended by every one of them.
Just the other day, the Harrison Daily Times carried a front-page story about the Harrison regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voting unanimously to condemn all forms of racism and the video shot by a California profiteering videographer who spent three days at the Walmart to capture about 20 of some 80,000 who passed by him, casting slurs or disagreeing with the Black Lives Matter sign he held to provoke such reactions.
The Chamber has invited the Boone County Quorum Court and Harrison City Council to join in its condemnation along with supporting legislation that imposes enhanced sentences for those convicted of hate crimes.
And a week ago, a nonpartisan crowd gathered at the courthouse square to rally under the banner: "We Stand With Harrison Against Racism." Sponsored by the local Republican and Democratic parties, along with the city's Task Force on Race Relations, the gathering also encouraged 30-second videos from participants explaining why this rally mattered to them.
In other words, valued readers, the people who call this city home are a far cry from a racist community, and they continue speaking out to make that widely known, regardless of what Harrison's critics from towns with their own racial issues might contend.
I recently exchanged emails with DuShun Scarbrough, executive director of Arkansas' Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, one who actually does understand Harrison. In part, our edited exchange went like this:
What's your impression of Harrison?
"Harrison is a community where many of the residents would like to see the negative stigma that hovers over the city regarding race relations dissipate. Although much work has been done, just like many other communities across the nation, Harrison must continue to strive to make a change.The recent viral video that emerged is evidence that there is additional work needed. However, the actions of some should not speak for the entire community. But those involved in the problem have to be involved in the solution. I am looking forward to soon meeting with city officials again and continuing the work including espousing the noble tenets of Dr. King. As you know the video presented a crisis that screamed out loudly. Every crisis presents opportunities for growth and a crisis must be faced with the truth, dedication, honesty, and commitment.
"Dr. King once said, 'True peace is not just the absence of tension but the presence of justice.' The spotlight is on Harrison throughout the nation at this time. Dr. King believed in his 'beloved community' concept. Eradicating racism benefits the racist because it destroys the hate inside of them. In other words, when you relieve a person of their anxiety and fear, you help them."
What does a community have to do to receive your Dream Keepers Award? Why was it presented to Harrison?
"The Dream Keepers Award is awarded to recipients that have shown significant change among neighborhoods throughout their cities. The change must be notable," he said. "Dr. King once said, 'Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred'."
In 2016, The MLK Jr. Commission presented Harrison with its Dream Keepers Award during the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day.
"During that time, our commission felt the citizens of Harrison demonstrated the ideology that if one person could make change through negativity then one person can change through making positive steps," said Scarbrough. "Dr. King's dream of racial harmony, love, and acceptance was shown through the city of Harrison's effort to change the negative perceptions in the city they work in, send their children to school in, and choose to raise their families."
Scarbrough said the MLK Jr. commission also teamed with the city of Harrison in 2012 to present the first-ever African American History program, "A New Beginning."
"We brought students from all over the state while flooding the downtown streets of Harrison's residents in an event to initiate change," he said. "This march ousting racism included legislators such as former Senator Johnny Key and now Secretary of Education, city officials, students from across the state and within the city. ... The overwhelming number of residents that came out to support this initiative made it apparent those favoring change were the majority.
"In 2014 we held a nonviolent youth summit in Harrison which included speakers such as Governor Asa Hutchison. We marched and physically buried racism by collecting hate mail (scattered publicly) inside of a custom-made coffin at City Hall. This was an ongoing effort to symbolize the burial alleviating hatred in the city.
"Since then there have been several other well-attended programs including Black Lives Matter rallies initiated by the citizens, a vigil in remembrance of Eric Garner, and a Black History Month Program. There have also been city proclamations and resolutions denouncing racism. Three mayors were included in this change that has been initiated."
Do you feel overall that Harrison gets an unfair rap when it comes to race relations?
"There are many communities across the state that face some of the very same problems that Harrison experiences," Scarbrough responded. "Yet Harrison is labeled nationally as the most racist town in America if you were to Google it. However, some of the reasons for this biased label are with the headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan within a stone's throw of Harrison in Zinc, and a long history of being one of Arkansas' legendary sundown towns running black residents out in the early 1900s. It 's understood why Harrison has held the reputation of being the opposite of diverse. Additionally, there is a Klan leader who lives outside of Harrison but uses a P.O. Box in Harrison to display residency status, which gives the false perception that many of the residents that live in Harrison follow the same ideology."
Scarbrough believes it unfair to generalize any one group or community. "There have been, and still are, people that feel this way regarding racial disparities, but there have also been many people that have faced their own racial biases through acknowledging the country's perception of their city who want to effectuate change for themselves and their city. Due to the long-hailed reputation and stigma, African Americans have been afraid to travel through, and especially to stop in Harrison. ... At some point this must change. It starts with us. All that being said, it is extremely apparent that there are some very serious problems that remain. ...
"These issues don't negate the work that has been accomplished," he said. "But they reinforce the mindset there's so much more work to be done. It is apparent we must teach some of our brothers and sisters in Harrison how to live with each other and others of a different race peacefully. This movement will not work without reaching critical mass.
"The strategy is to understand the will of achieving critical mass to change the beliefs of people," Scarbrough continued. "One of Dr. King's perspectives is that we love those different from us, not just those like us. This is a genuine revolution of value, which means in the final analysis our loyalties must become ecumenical rather sectional.
"We must make a moral commitment to each other to show that our hope for creative living in this 'world house' we've inherited lies in our ability to re-establish a moral end of our lives in personal character and social justice. Without this spiritual and moral reawakening, we shall destroy ourselves in the misuse of our own instruments. ... I have been proud to work with the Harrison Task Force on Race Relations over recent years."
Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly like you want them to treat you.
Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.