Virtual Symposium Addresses African American Migration in Arkansas

The discussion will focus on the experiences of Black Arkansans in the late 19th century.

Black Migration
Courtesy: Arkansas State Archives

The Black History Commission of Arkansas and the Arkansas State Archives are hosting a virtual symposium Feb. 6 titled “African American Migration in Arkansas: Where Did My People Go?” Speakers include Brian K. Mitchell from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, as well as Story Matkin-Rawn and Kenneth Barnes from the University of Central Arkansas. 

The event is part of an ongoing series of symposiums and other events  sponsored by the Black History Commission of Arkansas. The group’s mission is to collect materials pertaining to African American history for the Arkansas State Archives, encourage research of the state’s African American history and cooperate with the Arkansas Department of Education to develop materials that support the teaching of African American history in public schools. 

Presentations during next week’s event include African Americans, Arkansas and the Other Great Migration 1865-1920, Any Place But Here: The 1860 Expulsion of Free Blacks from Arkansas and Arkansas’s African Migration Movement in the late 1800s.

The free event is open to the public and teachers may earn up to three professional development hours through attendance. Guests can begin signing in for the symposium at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 6, with presentations starting at 9:45 a.m. Advance registration is required and limited to 100 participants. Registration is available here

For more information about the symposium, email tatyana.oyinloye@arkansas.gov or call 501-682-6900.