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Episodes The Prologue In Conversation In Session

Episode 13, Season 3 / Feb 8, 2024

Foundations of a Black Town

Mitchellville, Arkansas: Part One

The Prologue

The Prologue

Join producer Christian Leus as she travels to Mitchellville, Arkansas, a small Black town close to the Mississippi state line. Mitchellville’s story is little known even to Arkansans, but in the 1960s, it was the site of a high-profile civic improvement project started by civil rights leader Daisy Bates. In the first part of this two-part series, we’ll explore Mitchellville’s foundations and what it means to be a Black town. This episode is supported by the Arkansas Humanities Council.

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 Transcript

Beyond The Prologue

Gallery

Looking at Mitchellville

All photographs from the Daisy Bates Papers (MC 582), series 4. Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

From the Archive: "A Yellow House in New Orleans"

In the essay that would become her National Book Award-winning memoir The Yellow House, Sarah M. Broom tells the story of her family's house in New Orleans. Broom explores her relationship to her home, a place as fraught and vibrant as Mitchellville. Read the full essay here.

Thank You

This episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis, Christian Leus, and Zandria F. Robinson. Thank you to Dr. Melissa Stuckey, Dr. Danielle Purifoy, and Dr. Misti Harper. Thanks to Essie and Terrence Williams and to the Desha County Library. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb. This episode is supported by the Arkansas Humanities Council.