A group of local students will present poetry from the Harlem Renaissance during a program in observance of Black History Month on Thursday evening, February 25, at the Eddie Mae Herron Center. The event, which begins with desserts and coffee at 6:30, is co-sponsored by the EMH Center and BRTC’s Office of Corporate and Community Education. As African…
In the years 1965 and 1966 there was a major change in the Pocahontas Public School District. Beginning in March of 1965, the “Plan of Desegregation of Pocahontas School District #19” was approved. When this was announced the school then held a meeting with the parents, both black and white, and they decided that they…
On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. This landmark law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in public accommodations, in publicly owned or operated facilities, in employment and union membership and in the registration of voters. To mark the anniversary, the U.S. Census Bureau has…
Today marks the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. He was 39 years old. He was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead. James Earl Ray, a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary…
Most residents have heard the story that the first school for African-American children in Randolph County was a one-room school opened by sisters at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Pocahontas circa 1888. It is also believed that this was the first school of its kind in Arkansas. Additionally, the story goes that the school closed after a short…
Black History Month celebration of achievements of African-Americans and the recognition of African-Americans and their role in U.S. history. Black history month was originally know as, “Negro History Week,” founded by Carter G. Woodson. In 1976, the month of February has been designated as Black History Month. Along with the USA, Canada and the United…