Kirk to Speak about Civil Rights Movement Following Central High Desegregation Crisis
Dr. John Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at UA Little Rock, will be one of the featured speakers in a series aimed at fostering awareness and dialogue about equality, justice, and human rights at the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.
Kirk’s talk, “A Conversation on the Civil Rights Movement in Little Rock after the Central High Crisis,” will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site visitor center, 2120 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive in Little Rock.
The event is free and open to the public, and the series is meticulously designed to educate and motivate audiences, encouraging them to reflect on their roles in advancing civil rights.
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, part of the National Park Service, features the story of the Little Rock Nine – the first Black students at the school – and the battle over school desegregation and integration in Little Rock.
“Many people still believe that the Civil Rights Movement in Little Rock and in Arkansas begins and ends with the Central High Crisis in 1957,” Kirk said. “However, as my work over the past 30 years has demonstrated, the crisis was part of a long civil rights movement both in the city and in the state. Everything that happened elsewhere in the civil rights movement—such as sit-ins and Freedom Rides, nonviolent direct action and voter registration campaigns—also occurred here.”
Kirk is an award-winning author and historian who has written extensively about civil rights in Arkansas. Kirk has been honored with the Diamond Award for his work on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail and the Award of Merit for his work on the Arkansas Civil Rights History Tour App from the Arkansas Historical Association.
Kirk has authored, edited, or co-edited 10 books including, “Redefining the Color Line: Black Activism in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1940-1970,” “Beyond Little Rock: The Origins and Legacies of the Central High Crisis,” “Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement: Controversies and Debates,” “Arsnick: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Arkansas,” “Race and Ethnicity in Arkansas: New Perspectives,” and “The Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader.”
