AR History

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. 

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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:

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:

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. 

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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:

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. 

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In this episode you follow me and my friends Wesley and Sydney on a day trip through some remote parts of the Delta. 

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This episode examines the Bracero Program in Arkansas. Dr. Justin Castro, Chair of the History Department at Arkansas State University and scholar of modern Latin America, explains its impact on immigration and civil rights movements in Arkansas and beyond. 

For more information on the Bracero Program:

Castro, Justin, "Mexican Braceros and Arkansas Cotton: Agricultural Labor and Civil Rights in the Post-World War II South," The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Spring 2016, p. 27-46. 

In this episode, I sit down with independent scholar and researcher Tara Laperano to discuss Danielle Bunten Berry. Berry was a video game developer in Little Rock. We discussed her contributions to technology and how her significance to Arkansas History goes far beyond video games. 

This episode introduces you to The Arkansas Humanities Council. In addition to discussing some of the grant opportunities and education initiatives the AHC offers this episode includes interviews with Jama Best, Executive Director; Tamisha Cheatham, Community Outreach Coordinator; Ann Clements, Education Outreach Coordinator, Joseph Key, Board Chair.