Celebrating Black History Month: 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment, Civil War Heroes

In August 1862, Kansas territory army recruiter James Lane authorized the recruitment of black men for raising a regiment.  This went against the wishes of the Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.  Nevertheless, many freed black men and escaped slaves volunteered.  The newly formed regiment had three black officers, William D. Matthews, Henry Copeland, and Patrick Minor.  

They were the first black regiment to be organized in a northern state and the first black unit to see combat during the Civil War.  In the skirmish at Island Mound in Missouri, African-American soldiers showed they could fight and they could lead.

At the Battle of Poison Spring in Ouachita County, Arkansas in April 1864, the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry lost more men than any other unit during the Civil War.  

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: William Wirt Hastings, first US Representative from Oklahoma

 William Wirt Hastings, born December 31, 1866 in Benton County, Arkansas, moved with his family to the Cherokee Nation, in Indian Territory.  He attended Cherokee tribal school and graduated from Cherokee Male Seminary in 1884.  He graduated from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee in 1889 and began his law practice in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. 

He was first elected to the US House of Representatives, making him the first Native American representative in Congress from Oklahoma. He served for three terms from March 1915 to March 1921.  He was defeated by Alice Mary Robertson in 1920, but re-elected in 1923 and served for five more terms to January 1935.  He did not seek re-election in 1934 and returned to his practice in Tahlequah. 

He passed away in April 1938 in Tahlequah.

Elaine Massacre, Arkansas 1919

The summer following the end of World War I in 1919 became known as the Red Summer, in which mobs of white men attacked and killed black men in dozens of cities across the United States.  In Arkansas, landowners used the black man's ability to read or write to their advantage and ensured the black population remained mired in debt.  

Robert Hill, a black farmer from Winchester, Arkansas, founded the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of American (PFHUA) to help farmers get fair pay for their crops and negotiate for better conditions.  

Whites saw this as a prelude to insurrection.  On September 30, 1919, the PFHUA met with about 100 black farmers at a church near Elaine to discuss their options.  They placed armed guards outside to protect the meeting.  When two deputized, white men and a black trustee showed up, shots were fired.  One of the white men was killed and the other wounded.  It has never been determined who fired the first shot, but it ignited a powder keg.

The sheriff called for a posse to capture the suspects and prevent a black insurrection.  As many as 1000 men were estimated to have answered the call.  They attacked and killed black people on sight.  Arkansas Governor Charles Brough called it a Negro uprising, saying black people planned to kill white leaders. 

Official records at the time count eleven black men and five white men killed.  Other estimates claim up to 237 black men killed.  An investigation resulted in indictments against 122 blacks for the murders of the white men.  

Twelve defendants, known as the Arkansas Twelve (or Elaine Twelve) were eventually convicted by all-white juries and sentenced to death in the electric chair.  The NAACP appealed to the Supreme Court, who overturned the death sentences since they determined the men's convictions lacked due process.  In 1923, the Arkansas Twelve were released.

Arkansas Gov. Faubus sends Nat'l Guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine from entering high school 1957

In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of schools was unconstitutional, but integration did not come easily. 

In 1957, nine black students attempted to enroll at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas.  On September 4, 1957, Governor Faubus mobilized the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from entering, preventing integration.  To "preserve the peace". 

The nine students were physically and mentally abused by the white students, but they persevered.  President Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army, then later, federalized the Arkansas National Guard and ordered them to support the integration and protect the black students.

Celebrating Black History Month: O.W Gurley, Founding Father Of Black Wall Street

O. W. Gurley, a wealthy black landowner from Arkansas, traveled to Indian Territory to participate in the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run.  He had just resigned from a presidential appointment under President Grover Cleveland.

In 1906, he moved to Tulsa and purchased 40 acres of land which he declared was only to be sold to other black people.  He opened a rooming hosue on Greenwood Avenue, and it became very popular for blacks fleeing oppression in Mississippi.  In Gurley's building they could escape the racial persecution.

Gurley, J. B. Stradford, and several other prominent black people pooled resources and created a self-sustaining exclusive black enclave, which later became known as "Black Wall Street".  Unfortunately, Gurley lost everything in the Tulsa Race Riots in 1921. 

His fate is not know because he vanishes from history after that. 

Celebrating Black History Month: Bass Reeves, first African-American deputy US Marshall west of the Mississippi

Bass Reeves, born July 1838 in slavery in Crawford County, Arkansas, was the first black deputy U.S. Marshall west of the Mississippi, mainly in Arkansas and Oklahoma Territory.  He and his family were slaves of Arkansas state legislator William Reeves.

When the Civil War began, he joined the Confederate Army with his owner at the time George Reeves.  At some point he managed to gain his freedom but there are different accounts of how that happened.  It is know he stayed in the Indian Territory, learning their languages until he was freed by the Thirteenth Amendment.

He was appointed deputy US marshal by James Fagan, a US marshal, who had heard about Reeves and his ability to speak several Native American languages.

He worked for 32 years in Indian Territory, bringing in some of the most dangerous outlaws then and never received any wounds.  He even had to arrest his own son for murder. 

When Oklahoma became a state, he became a Muskogee Police Department officer.  That is where he died in January 1910.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Richard Covey!

Richard Covey, born August 1, 1946 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, has flown in space four times. 

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-I) as pilot August-September 1985.  He spent just over 7 days in space.

His second flight was again aboard Discovery (STS-26) as pilot September-October 1988.  It was the first flight after the Challenger disaster in 1986.  It was also the first mission with an all-veteran crew since Apollo 11. They stayed in space about 4 days.

His third flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) as commander in November 1990.  This mission carried a classified payload for the Department of Defense.  They remained in space for almost 5 days.

Covey's fourth and final mission was as commander on Endeavour (STS-61) in December 1993, which was a Hubble servicing mission.  The crew remained in space for almost 11 days.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Scott Parazynski!

Scott Parazynski, born July 28, 1961 in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a veteran of five space shuttle missions and seven spacewalks.

His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-66) as mission specialist in November 1994.  It was the last solo flight for Atlantis until 2009.  Until then, her missions were either to Mir or the International Space Station.

His second mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-86) as mission specialist to Mir September-October 1997.  He performed an EVA with fellow astronaut Vladimir Titov (Roscosmos) which lasted about 5 hours.

Parazynski's third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-95) as mission specialist in October-November 1998.  John Glenn made history by going into space at 77 years old on this trip.


His fourth flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-100) as mission specialist April-May 2001 to the International Space Station.  Parazynski performed two EVAs with fellow astronaut Chris Hadfield for a total of almost 15 hours.

Scott's fifth and final flight was on Discovery (STS-120) as mission specialist October-November 2007.   He conducted four EVAs, three with Douglas Wheelock, and one with Daniel Tani, for a total of 27 hours and 14 minutes.