Date Original
2010
Description
This collection is comprised of photographs and a video oral history project conducted by the Black History Commission of Arkansas of former residents of the West Rock Community, Lois Edwards Threet, and Mary Threet Freeman.
Biographical/Historical Note
West Rock Community was an all-black community located between Allsopp Park and Cantrell Road in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas. The West Rock Community was fifty-two acres of framed structures along the ridges of Pulaski Heights, Little Rock, Arkansas. The residents of West Rock were primarily made up of domestic service workers who were employed by and worked for the white families of Pulaski Heights. By the mid-1950s the West Rock Community had substandard and the city of Little Rock received a federal grant to conduct a redevelopment survey. Today the area is one of the most sought after, exclusive neighborhoods and is indistinguishable from the affluent Pulaski Heights its early residents served. The Black History Commission of Arkansas (BHCA) was created by Act 1233 of 1991 and is composed of seven members appointed by the governor with approval of the Senate. The BHCA is charged with preserving the history of black Arkansans and black communities in Arkansas. This commission also encourages research of Arkansas’s black history and promotes teaching black history in Arkansas schools. Grants are awarded from the BHCA in a concerted effort to ensure Arkansas’s black history is collected and preserved. The Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant Program was established in 2009 by Act 660 to honor the program’s namesake who served as chair of the commission from 1993 – 2007.
Physical Description
Document, 8.5" x 11"
Geographical Area
Little Rock, Pulaski County (Ark.)
Language
English
Identifier
BHC.001.019
Resource Type
Text
Collection
West Rock Community oral history project report, BHC.001.019
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
West Rock Community oral history project report, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rights
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.
Disciplines
United States History
