Arkansas
Ark. town known for ties to KKK tries to rebrand
When a black man supposedly broke into a white man’s home in 1905, a mob ran most black people out of tiny Harrison, Ark., and instantly gave the community a lasting reputation as being too dangerous for minorities. More than a century later, only 34 of the nearly 13,000 residents in Harrison are black. But [...]
Arkansas legislators elect first black House speaker
Arkansas legislators made history Friday when they elected a black lawmaker to lead the state House, marking the highest elected position a black person has won in the state since Reconstruction. Representatives chose Democratic Rep. Darrin Williams of Little Rock to be the next speaker of the House by a 54-46 vote. Williams was elected [...]
Both Sides Unhappy with Ruling on Racial Discrimination in the Workplace
Six current and former African American employees working at a steel mill in Arkansas sued a company for racial discrimination. The judge ruled in favor of both parties for separate claims, and at trial, the plaintiffs were awarded a monetary compensation. Nevertheless, both sides contested the ruling. The Nucor Corporation is a steel manufacturing company [...]
Black Student Can’t Be Valedictorian
Courthouse News Service – A high school southeast of Little Rock would not let a black student be valedictorian though she had the highest grade-point average, and wouldn’t let her mom speak to the school board about it until graduation had passed, the graduate claims in Federal Court. Kymberly Wimberly, 18, got only a single [...]
3 indicted for burning cross at home of African American man in northeast Arkansas
Three men have been indicted on civil rights charges for allegedly burning a cross at the home of a black man in northeast Arkansas. U.S. Attorney for the state’s Eastern District Jane Duke says the cross was set aflame at on Aug. 28 at a home in Salado. Duke says 22-year-old James Bradley Branscum and [...]
