The Hard Road to Equal Rights

The Hard Road to Equal Rights (HM21DL)

Location: Helena-West Helena, AR 72342 Phillips County
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 34° 30.752', W 90° 35.583'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 263 views
Inscription
African Americans Exercise Their Rights

In the decades following the Civil War, former slaves in
Arkansas saw African Americans elected to local, state and
national offices. Henderson B. Robinson was elected sheriff
of Phillips County. James White and William H. Grey of Helena
were elected to the 1868 Arkansas Constitutional Convention. They
were among the first African Americans to create laws for
Arkansas. From 1868 to 1893, African Americans held seats in
every Arkansas general assembly.

Former Confederates Retaliate
The rights granted to African Americans proved fleeting.
Former Confederates regained the political power they had
lost. The laws they passed stripped away or nullified most of
the rights African Americans had briefly experienced. For
many years, African Americans in much of the United
States had very few civil liberties.

The Civil Rights Movement

A new era of change began on December 1, 1955. Rosa
Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery
Alabama, bus sparked the modern Civil Rights movement.
In Arkansas, U.S. Army troops escorted the "Little Rock
Nine" into the city's Central High School on September 25,
1957. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC) began
working in 1963 to integrate Henry's Drug
Store and Habib's Cafeteria and other public places in
Helena.

Through the late 1950s and the 1960s, courageous
individuals fought to restore the rights guaranteed by the
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. They won that
fight. Prejudice remains but change continues. Just how
much was demonstrated in 2008, when the people of the
United States elected Barack Obama, an African American,
44th President of the United States.

[Photo captions]
Top left:William Hines Furbush, a Helena photographer represented Phillips and Monroe County in the Arkansas General Assembly in 1872.
Right side (B&W): A boy watches opponents of desegregation march from the Arkansas Capitol to Central High in 1959.
Bottom right: President Barack Obama
Details
HM NumberHM21DL
Tags
Year Placed2013
Placed ByArkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, September 3rd, 2017 at 4:01pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)15S E 720956 N 3821617
Decimal Degrees34.51253333, -90.59305000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 34° 30.752', W 90° 35.583'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds34° 30' 45.12" N, 90° 35' 34.98" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)870
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 702-722 US-49 BUS, Helena-West Helena AR 72342, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?