Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 73067
Washington, DC 20056-3067
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Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. P. O. Box 73067 Washington, DC 20056-3067
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32nd AAHGS Conference
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Friday |
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Formerly she served as the president of the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus and is past treasurer of the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus. Civically, she has been active in many local, state and national organizations and has held various leadership capacities, including past president of the Little Rock School Board and the Pulaski County Association of Classroom Teachers and past two-term president of the Arkansas Education Association. She is the only Arkansan elected to the nine-member Executive Committee of the National Education Association. Professionally, Senator Chesterfield is a retired
educator with over thirty years of classroom experience. Additionally, she
is owner of Pondexter Chesterfield Consulting. A native of Hope, Arkansas,
Senator Chesterfield was the first African-American to graduate from Hendrix
College. She and her husband, Emry, reside in Little Rock and attend the
First Baptist Church. |
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Friday |
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Gaines was a product of the Helena/West Helena School District. In fact, he loves to say, I am a proud 1956 graduate of what was the segregated Eliza Miller High School. Gaines who was an all-state basketball and football player finished high school with scholarship offers in those sports. He accepted a football scholarship to attend Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Gaines a multi-sport participant at Philander Smith College graduated in the summer of 1960. Upon completion of his intercollegiate football season he was drafted to play professional football with the then St. Louis Football Cardinals. During his summer semester in college he was informed by the St. Louis Football Cardinal Organization that the organization had “filled the team quota“. It was later that he realized that he came to understand “filled the quota” meant they had all the Black players they would retain. Gaines walked out of the Wesley Chapel C.M.E Church upon
graduation, met the principal from segregated J.S. Phelix High School who
offered him a teaching/coaching position in the Marion School District.
Gaines accepted that position with the intention of staying one year, as he
had been offered a free agent contract by the then Boston Patriots. Gaines
who went there to stay one year, observed the struggles and challenges that
the students at J.S. Phelix faced and ended up staying in the Marion School
District twelve years. He taught and coached at J.S. Phelix until the
consolidation of Marion Schools and Phelix Schools (K-12). Gaines then
became the first Black Interscholastic Coach in the Marion School District
(head basketball and assistant football). While coaching at Marion High
School, he began taking extended day and summer classes at Arkansas State
University. He became the first Black student to receive a Master of Science
in Education Degree MSE in Health, Physical Education and Recreation at
Arkansas State University in 1967, the first year ASU received “University
Status”. |
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Friday |
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With the admittance in 1948 of Silas Hunt to the University of Arkansas Law School, the university became the first southern public institution of higher education to officially desegregate without being required to do so by court order. Other students would follow in Silas Hunt’s footsteps, and they along with the university would have to grapple with the situation. Remembrances in black is an oral history that gathers the personal stories of African Americans who worked as faculty, staff, and of students who studied at the flagship institution. These stories illustrate the anguish, struggle, and triumph of individuals who had their lives indelibly marked by their experiences at the school. This book illustrates how African Americans navigated both the evolving campus environment and that of the city of Fayetteville in their attempt to fulfill personal aspirations. About the Author: Dr. Lonnie R. Williams received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Master of Education, Education Specialist and Doctorate in Education from the University of Arkansas. In April 2003, he became the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at Arkansas State University. Prior to joining ASU, he served as a staff member of University of Arkansas for 27 years in positions such as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Director of the Multicultural Center to name a few. Dr. Williams, from Stephens, AR, is married to Mary
Elizabeth Williams of Fayetteville, AR. They have a blended family of 7
children and 10 grandchildren. This project with Dr. Charles Robinson,
“Remembrances in Black: Personal Perspectives of the African American
Experience at the University of Arkansas, 1940s-2000”, is something he has
wanted to do since the 1998 Black Alumni Reunion which celebrated the 50th
anniversary of Silas Hunt’s entering the U of A. |
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Learn the untold story of the U.S. Colored
Troops incarcerated as Union prisoners in the infamous Andersonville Prison
in Georgia during 1864. Bob O’Conner was born in Dixon, Illinois and
graduated from Northern Illinois University. I was first published in 7th
grade in the Illinois Historical Society Magazine for juniors. My first
historical experience came when I was taken to the 100th
Anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in Galesburg, Illinois in 1958
where the keynote speaker was Carl Sandberg. My keen interest in the Civil
War has led me to investigate and write historical fiction accounts about
the events of the war. I have published “The Perfect Steel Trap Harpers
Ferry 1859” the story of the John Brown Raid; “The Virginian Who
Might Have Saved Lincoln” an account of War Hill Lamon, Abraham
Lincoln’s personal bodyguard; and
“Catesby: Eyewitness to the Civil War”, about a colored blacksmith and
his quest for freedom. |
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A historical fiction of the life and times
of Daisy Gatson Bates is scheduled for publication in early 2012. The author
will have pre-order forms, and proof galleys of the book. Janis F. Kearney,
publisher, author, oral historian and literacy advocate, is one of 19
children born to Arkansas Delta Sharecroppers, and cotton farmers. She
founded Writing our World Press, a micropublishing company, in 2004,
and published the award-winning Cotton Field of Dreams: A Memoir. In
2006, she published an autobiography, Quiet Guys Do Great Things, Too
and Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton…from Hope to Harlem, an
oral biography centered around the Clinton presidency and political legacy.
In 2008, she published two books: Once Upon a Time there was a Girl: a
Murder at Mobile Bay; Kearney’s first fiction, and Something to Write
Home About: Memories from a Presidential Diarist. |
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Saturday |
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Phyllis is the first elected President of the Utah Chapter of AAHGS which was chartered August 13, 2006. Since serving as the President of AAHGS, she was the Executive Producer of a film entitled Wisdom of Our Years: Stories of African American in Utah. She has over 42 years of corporate experience, retired from Salt Lake City Corporation after over 12 years of service. Phyllis was Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) program manager for the City. Prior to joining Salt Lake City, Phyllis worked at Bureau Veritas Quality International (BVQI) as the Regional Operations manager. Prior to joining BVQI, Phyllis worked for International Business Machines (IBM) for 30 years. While at IBM, Phyllis held a number of key positions --- to name a few: Recruiter, Technical Writer, Administrative Manager, Equal Opportunity Compliance Officer, Trainer (Management Development, Professional Development and Technical Education), and Advisory Planner in Software Development. Phyllis earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration - Management.
Phyllis has been married to Dean Caruth for 48 years and has two sons, two
daughter-in-laws, and four grandchildren. |
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Saturday |
 Growing Up On The Creek Bridge by Ernest “Tex” SimsThe book, Growing Up On The Creek Bridge, is a true account based on life’s hardship and tragedy during the 1940s, ’50s and '60s. The story revolves around the life of my father, a black man’s struggle with poverty to provide for his family, a wife and eighteen kids, in Southern Arkansas. The story is heartwarming, exciting, at times heartbreaking, telling of happy times and sad times, of a man and his faithful hunting dog, the atmosphere of cotton fields, the reflection of a family’s love for one another, and the will to survive in what we now call the “Good Ol’ Days”. About the Author: I was born Earnest Herman Sims in the
Old Mel “Cow” Price house, a little three-roomed, tin-top shack in Casscoe,
Arkansas on April 8, 1948, the first of eight boys born from 1948 to 1969,
and the oldest brother to ten girls born from 1944 to 1967. Born to Willie
Mac Sims and Rosa Lee Sims, my sisters, brothers, and I grew up chopping and
picking cotton. Unfortunately, I never attended college, or graduated high
school. At thirteen, after only three days in the seventh grade, I dropped
out of Immanuel High School to help my father, a sharecropper cotton farmer,
support our growing family.
Ms. Stickney is best known and respected for her work in film, stage, television and comedy. Her portrayals range from articulate attorney to feisty comedy club diva, to a Jamaican mother of class and status to one of the most intelligently hilarious comic talents recognized in HBO’s The History of Blacks in Comedy. Wherever we see or hear Phyllis Yvonne Stickney she feels like family or somebody we’d like to know. New Jack City, Die Hard With A Vengeance, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Inkwell, What’s Love Got To Do With It? Malcolm X, Daddy’s Girl (ABC After school Special) are among her film credits. Phyllis Yvonne Stickney made television history by portraying an African Centered character on The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. To her many talents, she is a Community Activist, Motivational Speaker, Director, Author, Producer and Clothing Designer. Most recently Ms. Stickney was invited to attend the 4th Annual Playwrights Retreat in Umbria, Italy and is completing her first novel and new one woman stage presentation. Arkansas Repertory Theatre was where Ms. Stickney portrayed “Lena” in Lorraine Hansberry’s awarding winning play A Raisin In The Sun. The play was produced in January 2011 and received great reviews and exceeded the box office expectations of producers. |
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This book is a collection of the
autobiographies of ten sisters. It is an inspirational story of a family
with extraordinary parents who raised twenty-two children. After over a
year of marriage, Mom and Dad gave birth to one child and became surrogate
parents of seven other children from two years old to fourteen years old
unto they became adults. The Author: Rose Stovall is the eleventh child of
fourteen biological children, who along with nine sisters composed this book
paying homage to extraordinary parents. Rose received a master’s degree in
counseling from Dallas Baptist University in order to better serve the
community. She helped pioneer and served as the assistant pastor to Bishop
Jerry Potts of Love and Praise Fellowship Church. She received Ordained
Minister’s license from the Potter’s House, and served as a mentor for Texas
Offenders Reentry Initiative. |
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Saturday |
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Annie was born on September 25, 1931 in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. She moved to Little Rock as a teenager to pursue her education after she had gone as far as she educationally could as a young Black child in Clark County. Born during the Depression Annie soon learned the harsh realities faced by the oppressed. Annie feels moving to Little Rock was the best thing that ever happened to her. In Little Rock she enrolled in Dunbar High School where she was exposed to the elite African American educators, many of whom became her role models. She graduated from Dunbar High School in 1950 and subsequently earned an Associate degree from Dunbar Junior College in 1952. She won an academic scholarship to Brandeis University after graduating from high school however due to limited finances she was unable to afford the trip, thereby forfeiting her scholarship. Undeterred, Annie resumed her college studies at Philander Smith College on a part-time basis after marrying and having her four children. She eventually earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Special Education. Two of her proudest moments occurred when she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from her Alma Mater and when she was awarded the national Martin Luther King, Jr., award from the late Coretta Scott King for her efforts to get the Martin Luther King, Jr., observance in Arkansas. |
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Copyright
© 2003-2011 Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society,
Inc. |
Senator Linda Pondexter Chesterfield represents
Senate District 34, which comprises part of Pulaski County. She is serving
her first term in the Arkansas Senate. During the 88th General Assembly, she
serves as chairman of the Senate Transportation, Technology and Legislative
Affairs Committee and holds membership on several other committees,
including Joint Budget; Arkansas Legislative Council; Legislative Joint
Auditing; Senate Revenue and Taxation; Senate Children and Youth; and Senate
Rules, Resolutions and Memorials. Senator Chesterfield came to the Senate
with a wealth of legislative experience. She was elected to the Arkansas
House of Representatives in 2002 to serve House District 36, where she
served three consecutive terms. While in the House of Representatives, she
served as chair of Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military
Affairs; chair of Desegregation Litigation, and as chair of the K-12,
Vocational- Technical School Institutions Subcommittee of Education. 
Dr. Wilbert Gaines is a retired Associate
Professor Emeritus in the Department of Health Physical Education and Sport
Sciences HPESS at Arkansas State University. During his tenure in the
department, he was coordinator of the BSE and Coaching Endorsement Programs.
Remembrances In Black: Personal
Perspectives of the African American Experience at the University of
Arkansas 1940’s ~ 2000 by Lonnie R. Williams
The
U.S. Colored Troops of Andersonville Prison by Bob O’Connor
Daisy:
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Janis F. Kearney
Phyllis
J. Caruth was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was orphaned at the
age of 7. After the death of both parents, she was taken in by her maternal
grandmother. At the age of 9, her grandmother relocated the family to Palo
Alto, California where she attended elementary, high school and college.
Loud Thoughts for Quiet Monets by Phyllis Yvonne Stickney
Ten
Sisters (Dew Baby’s)
Annie McDaniel Abrams is one of the most sought
after historians in the State of Arkansas. She is known for her wisdom, her
socio-political views and her vast reservoir of historical data. Annie has
presented seminars and speeches on education, religion and politics. She has
been involved at the grassroots level of politics in the areas of prison
reform, educational reform, women rights and human rights. Her connections
with historical and famous people from around the world are endless. Her
rich personal library of books, documents and directories are used as a free
reference system for many researchers examining Arkansas history. Annie has
been directly involved in the desegregation and integration of Little Rock
public schools. She is considered to be a community activist by the press, a
title she earned for her tireless efforts to make a difference in her
community at all levels. Annie has always been a trailblazer. She was
elected as the first African American President of the Little Rock Central
High School Parent Teacher Association in 1974. Her passions are evident all
around Little Rock where you will find her name engraved on the cornerstone
of the Little Rock Central High Museum, the former Little Rock Urban League
building, and the Bess Chism YWCA. She is known in the political arena as a
maverick and a force to be reckoned with. Annie is known for speaking her
mind. She has been an active member of the Arkansas Democratic Party having
served in various roles, including the Arkansas Democrat Black Caucus,
Senior Democrats, Pulaski County Democratic Women and the Arkansas Democrat
Faith Based Caucus. She was elected as a delegate to the Democratic
Convention in 1984 and has served as a delegate for four of the past five
conventions. Annie has served as a Consultant to several Arkansas Governors,
including Winthrop Rockefeller, Dale Bumpers, Bill Clinton, Jim Guy Tucker
and Mike Beebe. 