Date Original
2006-2009
Description
This collection contains materials prepared in conjunction with a Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant from the Black History Commission of Arkansas, and includes information on race relations in early 20th century America, an overview of Hunt’s life and legacy. Collection contains a 183-page document and one CD with digital copy of document. 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.
Biographical/Historical Note
Silas H. Hunt was born on March 1, 1922 in Ashdown, Arkansas, a farming community. He attended Booker T. Washington High School in Texarkana and later attended the Agricultural, Mechanical, and Normal College at Pine Bluff, the historically black college now known at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Hunt became known as a figure for integration when he applied to the University of Arkansas School of Law. On February 2, 1948, Silas H. Hunt became the first black student admitted into a southern white university since Reconstruction. Hunt died shortly thereafter from tuberculosis on April 22, 1949.
Physical Description
Document, 8.5" x 11"
Geographical Area
Arkansas
Language
English
Identifier
MS.000739
Resource Type
Text
Collection
Silas H. Hunt Community Development Corporation grant project, MS.000739
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
Silas H. Hunt Community Development Corporation grant project, 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
