College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education
George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History
Dr. John Kirk is a George W. Donaghey distinguished professor of history in the department of history at UA Little Rock and the director of the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity. Kirk is a noted scholar of the civil rights movement and has worked continually over the years to help the public and students understand the struggle for social justice.
Kirk has taught several courses related to racial justice including the classes introduction to race and ethnicity and civil rights movement since 1954 just to name a few. He also played a key role in establishing the minor in race and ethnicity at UA Little Rock. Students have praised his courses as transformative and he has aided students with their own publications on social justice.
Outside the classroom, Kirk is a noted civil rights scholar and advocate for social justice. His scholarships is extensive and several works include The Civil Rights Movement:A Documentary Reader, a consultancy for a Netflix series on schools and race, a CNN podcast on the 1959 fire at the Arkansas Negro Boys Industrial School, and an AETN documentary on Little Rock’s West 9th street. Kirk has produced over 100 radio segments, published in local papers, conducted over 50 interviews, and generated racial attitudes reports and community conferences. On top of his extensive work, he developed the award winning Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail.
Krik received a B.A. in American studies from the University of Nottingham and a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.