Arkansas’ African American history is preserved at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock. The center has a newly renovated constant gallery to facilitate share this heritage with visitors.
A breadth of information can be found in the novel gallery, thanks to a variety of powerful exhibits. A novel interactive children’s gallery celebrates the power of diversity and individuality. The role of education is spotlighted in many areas including at an archaic school desk fitted with a touchscreen that gives details on the Rosenwald School timeline and the schools’ impact in the state. Exhibits tell about the integration of the Hoxie School District in 1955 and the nationwide attention it garnered after an article in Life magazine commending the district sparked an uprising and protest by segregationists. There are panels about the impact of the Little Rock Nine, the group of students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957 and made U.S. civil rights history in the process. More about this monumental moment in history can be found nearby at Little Rock Central High School Historic Site.
Education is highlighted at many spots in the gallery including at this display on colleges and universities. Photo by Kirk Jordan.
One can learn about many influential leaders in the gallery including Daisy Bates, civil rights activist and mentor to the Little Rock Nine, Charlotte “Lottie” Andrews Stephens, who in 1869 became the first African American teacher in the Little Rock School System, and John L. Handcox, who became a songwriter poet for the Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union.
More about the Southern Tenants Farmers’ Union, which was organized in Tyronza in the 1930s to reform the crop-sharing system, can also be found in the gallery. Further details about this time in history can also be found at the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum in Tyronza.
A range of history that spans eras can be found in the novel constant gallery. Photo by Kirk Jordan.
The range of history found at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center spans eras. One can learn about the history of West Ninth Street, once a flourishing African American business district in the city and the location of the present-day Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. There are exhibits about the Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide once used by African American travelers to find businesses that would be welcoming to them during the Jim Crow era of segregation. There is an exhibit on the Velvatex College of Beauty Culture, which was established in 1929 and among the oldest African American woman-owned beauty colleges in the country. One can learn about the Crystal Bathhouse, an African American bathhouse that opened in 1904 and burned in 1913 in a devastating fire that took out 60 blocks of downtown Hot Springs. One can learn about pioneers in African American history such as Booker T. Washington and William E.B. DuBois. One can learn about African American writers including Maya Angelou, whose childhood home was in Stamps. One can learn about the vital role that churches have in the community as a place of refuge.
View from inside the constant gallery at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. Photo by Kirk Jordan.
Music and culture are highlighted, as are musicians with Arkansas ties in the realms of blues, rock & roll, gospel, jazz and more. Musicians such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who was born in Cotton Plant in 1915 and posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, are highlighted as are musical hotspots like Helena, home of local radio station King Biscuit Time, which is recorded at the Delta Cultural Center in Helena and known as the longest running blues broadcast in the world.
This is a just a glimpse at the amount of history that can be found at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. If you are interested in visiting, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is located at 501 W. Ninth Street and is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Looking into the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. Photo by Kirk Jordan.
The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is the first publicly funded museum of African American history and culture in Arkansas and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The center honors Arkansas’ African American history, including the story of the Mosaic Templars of America, which was founded in Little Rock in 1883. The center is a recreation of the original Mosaic Templars of America headquarters that was built here in 1913.
