AR History

While driving down Broadway, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is a hard building to miss and for episode four of ARHistory Podcast season two that’s just where Asya P found herself. Serving as a museum, gathering place, and an unorthodox community center, Mosaic is headed up by Quantia (Key) Fletcher. This week listen as Key and Asya P discuss Mosaic, Key’s start in museums, and career development. It is a conversation jammed packed with gems on how to become a history maker in your own right. Hear about all this on season two of ARHistory Podcast episode four “Home“ Available everywhere you get podcasts and our YouTube channel.

Taking it back to Summer 2020 for episode three of ARHistory Podcast season two with Dawn Jeffery. One leader of Arkansas BLM and the cofounder of the Little Rock Freedom Fund, Dawn Jeffery works tirelessly to help Arkansas achieve a better, more equipable future. Little Rock Freedom Fund offers bail support, legal defense support, community organizing support, and so much more across the state. Hear all about Summer 2020, Dawn Jeffery, and Little Rock Freedom Fund on season two of ARHistory Podcast episode three “Backwards“ Available everywhere you get podcasts and our YouTube channel.

Asya P went on a little road trip for episode two of ARHistory Podcast season two to Helena, Arkansas. Delta Dirt Distillery is the first and only Black owned distillery in the state of Arkansas and the only Black owned farm to bottle distillery in the country. Offering a unique vodka recipe, they are already making waves and winning awards after only two years of business. Hear about how all this came to be and why it's a full circle moment for the family on season two of ARHistory Podcast episode two “Roots“ Available everywhere you get podcasts and our YouTube channel.

Get ready for season two of ARHistory Podcast hosted by Asya P! This season focuses on current Arkansas history makers impacting the state right now. History doesn’t have to be 50 years ago and these people prove it. First up is Mayor Jaylen Smith from Earle, Arkansas, the youngest mayor in the country at 18 years old. Hear more about his journey to office on season two of ARHistory Podcast episode one “Passionate“ Available everywhere you get podcasts and our YouTube channel.

Most of you LOVED the Crater of Diamonds State Park episode from last season. So here is another state park story. 

In this episode, I sat down with Mary Buchman, the Superintendent of Crowley's Ridge State Park, to discuss the history of the park, recreational activities and programs, and potential careers available in state parks. 

For more information:

Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry on CCC in Arkansas

Arkansas State Parks Crowley's Ridge Website

Arkansas has one of the only places in the entire world where the public can dig for diamonds and take what they find home with them! In this episode, I spoke with Waymon Cox. He has been at Crater of Diamonds State Park for over 13 years. We discussed the history and geology of this fascinating place. 

For more information about Crater of Diamonds:

Crater of Diamonds State Park

For information about our generous sponsor The Arkansas Humanities Council

Arkansas housed two internment camps where Japanese-Americans were kept for the duration of World War II. In this episode, Kim Sanders, the former Confinement Site Interpreter for the Butler Center of Arkansas Studies, discusses the history of Jerome and Rohwer and how this history can help us address continued injustices in the present. 

For more information on Japanese Internment in Arkansas:

Japanese-American Relocation Camps

George Takei's graphic novel They Called Us Enemy

For more information about our sponsor The Arkansas Humanities Council

In Fall 1919 the small town of Elaine, Arkansas erupted in violence. White mobs fearful that African American sharecroppers were organizing to fight for higher wages launched massive  and violent assaults against the Black population. The death toll was in the hundreds. For this episode, I interviewed Lisa Hicks Gilbert, a descendant of two of the Elaine 12 and founder of the Descendants of Elaine. Hear how she found out about the massacre as an adult, how the consequences of the massacre still feed racial inequalities there today, and why it is important to make sure the right people are telling these stories. 

For more information:

Elaine Massacre, 1919

Descendants of Elaine

Revised edition of Grif Stockley's book "Blood in Their Eyes" with contributions from Dr. Brian Mitchell and Dr. Guy Lancaster.

Thanks to our generous sponsor The Arkansas Humanities Council

This episode examines the often untold story of Hoxie desegregation in 1955. Ethel Tompkins, the first African American graduate of Hoxie High School, provides a first-hand account of what it was like during that era. Jim Barksdale is also featured in this episode. He recounts stories his mother and aunt told him about that time period in their lives. 

To donate to the Hoxie museum fund:

Hoxie: The First Stand

Hoxie Facebook Page

For more information about Hoxie desegregation:

Hoxie Desegregation 

Special thanks to our sponsor The Arkansas Humanities Council

In this episode, we examine the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812. Dr. Conevery Bolton Valencius, author of The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes, explains how the earthquakes altered the geography of the New Madrid Seismic Zone and forever changed the lives of Indigenous peoples in the area. She also provides some insight into why we should care about these earthquakes today. 

For additional information:

The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes

United States Geological Survey

Our sponsor:

Arkansas Humanities Council

Special thanks to Justin Vinson and Clay Turner for providing the voiceovers in this episode.