Date Original
1970-1972
Description
The Soul Institute records contain papers concerning the Soul Institute school at Earle, Arkansas, from 1970 through 1972. The records include school registers from grades 1 through 12, event programs, and newspaper clippings.
Biographical/Historical Note
The Soul Institute School was established in 1970 in Earle, Arkansas, by African American citizens to counter the racial discrimination in the local public schools. Their concerns grew out of protests earlier in September of 1970 which had been met by violent retaliations from groups of armed whites. Several unarmed African Americans had been wounded and jailed in what became known as the Earle race riot of 1970. Reverend Ezra Greer and his wife Jackie Greer, local civil right activists, had earlier in the year organized the Crittenden County Improvement Association to organize protests in the county for better schools and better race relations. Despite having only a population of about 3,350 people, Earle still maintained a black high school and a separate white high school. The Soul Institute School was established and began holding classes on October 5th, at the offices of the Crittenden County Improvement Association. The school remained open until June of 1971 and had an enrollment of about 390 students. Additional materials related to the school can be found in the Arkansas State Archives general microfilm, roll MG08925, Soul Institute School records, 1971. This roll contains a school register book, 2 newspaper articles, and one brochure.
Physical Description
Document, 8.5" x 11"
Geographical Area
Earle, Crittenden County (Ark.)
Language
English
Identifier
MS.000783
Resource Type
Text
Collection
Soul Institute records, MS.000783
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
Soul Institute records, 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
