Educator, author and lecturer Daisy Graham Anderson is best known for being one of the last surviving widows of the American Civil War.
History
Elizabeth “Quatie” Ross was the first wife of Cherokee chief John Ross. She traveled through Arkansas on the Trail of Tears.
Edith Irby Jones was the first African American accepted at any medical school in the South. She graduated from the University of Arkansas Medical School.
Juanita Jackson Mitchell was a pioneering African-American attorney who was the first Black woman to practice law in Maryland.
Edomae Boone Watson was a prominent African-American civic and education leader in Jonesboro who helped develop the Head Start program in the city.
Florence Price was the first African-American female composer to have a symphonic composition performed by a major American symphony orchestra.
The city of Conway is conducting a historical context study in an effort to preserve the history of the Pine Street neighborhood.
Alfred “Slick” Surratt was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Arkansas native was involved with the creation and development of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Missouri.
On this date in 1964, boxer and Arkansas native Sonny Liston lost his title to Cassius Clay, soon to be Muhammad Ali.
Al Bell is considered the driving force behind Stax Records as a producer, songwriter and executive during the company’s most productive period.
Ralph Waldo Armstrong III photographed the African American community of Little Rock for more than 50 years. He was born on this date in 1925.
On this date in 2005, Corliss Williamson was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Sacramento Kings. Williamson is a retired NBA player from Arkansas.
Olympian Jeff Henderson was born on this date in 1989 in North Little Rock. He won the gold medal in the long jump in 2016.
At the time of his retirement, Edward Moore Jr. was the highest-ranking African American in the navy. He was more on this date in 1945.
On this date in 2011, Philander Smith College presented the Living Legends Award to Joyce Elise Williams Warren, the first Black female judge in the Pulaski County system and the first in Arkansas.
Charles F. Cunningham was the first African American mayor of Benton when he presided over the change from a city-manger system to a mayor-council form of government.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is awarding more than $650,000 in grants to eight HBCUs including Philander Smith College.
In this episode, we speak with three African American women working in the field of history about the importance of celebrating Black history year-round.
On this date in 2011, President Barack Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Maya Angelou, a bestselling author, poet and activist.
George Edwin Taylor was the first African American standard-bearer of a national political party to run for the office of president of the United States.
After World War II, Elliott C. van Zandt remained in Europe and was critical in the development of national programs for several sports, especially basketball.
On this date in 2010, the University of Nebraska published an article about Charles Greene’s kidney transplant. Greene was a track and field champion who won bronze and gold at the 1968 Olympic Games.
On this date in 1960, a bomb exploded in the home Carlotta Walls LaNier. She is one of the Little Rock Nine who desegregated Central High School in 1957.
Jazz musician Art Porter Sr. was born on this day in Little Rock. Porter was a pianist, composer, conductor and music teacher.
The House Committee on Education has approved a bill that encourages teachers to include certain Arkansas civil rights leaders in their Black History education.