Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

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This Day in Arkansas History

August 13, 1933

Joycelyn Elders was born Minnie Lee Jones in Schaal (Howard County). Elders was director of the Arkansas Department of Health and the U.S. surgeon general in the administration of President Bill Clinton. Her controversial opinions led to her resignation after just over a year as surgeon general. Elders later served as a faculty researcher at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. In 1996, she published her autobiography, Joycelyn Elders, MD: From Sharecropper’s Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States. She continues to promote sex education, viewing abstinence and “Just Say No” programs as unrealistic. After retiring from medicine in 1999, Elders returned to Little Rock (Pulaski County), where she speaks on issues such as AIDS, adolescent sexuality, and national healthcare.

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Southern State College Language Lab

While learning a second language has become a greater priority for students in the twenty-first century, language classes have long been a major component of public education in many Arkansas schools. Seen in this 1963 photograph are students of Southern State College, now Southern Arkansas University (SAU), in Magnolia (Columbia County) being instructed in the school’s state-of-the-art language laboratory.

 

While learning a second language has become a greater priority for students in the twenty-first century, language classes have long been a major component of public education in many Arkansas schools. Seen in this 1963 photograph are students of Southern State College, now Southern Arkansas University (SAU), in Magnolia (Columbia County) being instructed in the school’s state-of-the-art language laboratory.

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Lake with trees and foliage Sunken Lands Physical Geography Two young white women in matching hats and dresses sitting on stairs with Texas-Arkansas border line painted on them and stone building in background Texarkana Miller White man at base of tree covered mound site in field Archaic Period Time Periods "The Truth About the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan" newspaper clipping Ku Klux Klan Early Twentieth Century, Parties and Interest Groups Concrete dam and buildings with power station on water Blakely Mountain Dam Engineering, Water Older African-American man smiling in suit and bow tie Joseph Walter Jackson Business Leaders Headline "Christmas comes a little early this year" above illustration of parents labeled "Arkansas Voters" handing large present with text "Better Educational Opportunities" to two children labeled "Arkansas School Kids" all four smiling School Consolidation White man and woman folk costumes on stage with barn backdrop presenting violin making parts Violet Brumley Hensley Folk, Woodwork Book cover featuring white woman with blond hair and bright lipstick Gennifer Flowers Old African-American woman standing in dress outside building with wood siding "Aunt Caroline" Dye Folktales and Songs Three-story stone building with arched entrances and rows of windows Pulaski County Courthouse Buildings, Museums and Historic Sites rough wooden A-frame building labeled "Bearden" Bearden Ouachita Civil Liberties during the Civil War Man in St. Louis Cardinal uniform throwing a pitch in crowded stadium "Dizzy" Dean Baseball, Radio Horse drawn carriages on town street with multistory building with tower in the background Cane Hill Washington Stone marker with square base and trees in the background Grant County

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Portrait white man round glasses short hair and beard collared shirt focused expression downward angle Kevin John Brockmeier Fiction "Lafayette County" map with borders roads cities waterways Buckner Lafayette White drivers in uniform pose with their delivery trucks outside Yarnell's Angel-Food building Searcy White From chest up white woman dark hair in up do wearing cat eye glasses round earrings and tweed blouse Ruby Lowery Stapleton Criminal Activities White man wearing suit and tie in front of flag Stephen Allen Womack Legislative Branch -- Representatives Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission Land From torso up black woman straight medium length hair curled at ends wearing pearl earrings tweed jacket with large flower pin on right side Jane Ellen McBride Gates Educators and Administrators Group of white Jewish children in stage costumes Jews Ethnic Groups, Faiths and Denominations closeup of white man in button down shirt holding a guitar Shawn Camp Country Green and white two-story house with stone steps and facade Bill Clinton Boyhood Home Buildings, Museums and Historic Sites multi-story brick, steel, and glass building Arkansas State University Four-Year: Colleges and Universities White man and white woman examining baby in incubator Maternal and Infant Mortality African-American woman in turban and hoop earrings behind orchid Pulitzer Prize White man and woman folk costumes on stage with barn backdrop presenting violin making parts Violet Brumley Hensley Folk, Woodwork Looking up at brick clock tower and arched entrance way to baseball stadium with hanging light fixtures Dickey-Stephens Park Baseball Several acres of fenced land with multiple buildings including large wooden barn small horse barn and two story building with long single story attachment Arkansas State Farm for Women Law Enforcement

About the Encyclopedia

The CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas is a free, authoritative source of information about the rich history, geography, and culture of Arkansas. It is updated regularly to ensure the people of Arkansas have an accurate and accessible resource to explore our heritage. We invite you to browse our text entries and media galleries to learn more about the people, places, events, legends, and lore of the 25th state. We are continually adding new entries, photographs, maps, videos, quizzes, lesson plans, and more, so check back frequently to see what’s new.

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