Elaine Massacre of 1919

Legacies & Lunch September 2024

Documentary and Discussion with Sybil Jordan Hampton and Guy Lancaster

A screening of The Elaine Riot: Tragedy & Triumph, produced in 2002 by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF), will be followed by a discussion with Sybil Jordan Hampton, who was at the helm of the WRF when the documentary was produced, and Guy Lancaster, editor of the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas and scholar on racial violence. 
  
Sybil Jordan Hampton is a lifelong educator and social justice foot soldier. After completing an undergraduate degree in English literature at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, Hampton earned a Master of Science in Teaching from the University of Chicago, and a Master of Education and a Doctorate in Higher Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York. Southwestern University awarded her the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Hampton served as president of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation in Little Rock, Arkansas, and as Contributions Manager, Education and Culture at the GTE Corporate Foundation in Stamford, Connecticut. Following retirement in 2006, Hampton served as interim general manager of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and she continues to work as a consultant and public speaker focusing on issues related to economic, educational, and social justice; governance; and strategic visioning and planning, as well as academic advising and student developmental support services. As the first three-year African American graduate of Little Rock Central High School in 1962, Hampton makes presentations and leads discussions about inclusivity and about her role in the Little Rock Central High School desegregation struggle, including with young student visitors to the National Park Service’s Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.  
  
Guy Lancaster earned his PhD in Heritage Studies from Arkansas State University and became editor of the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas in 2008. His first book, Racial Cleansing in Arkansas, 1883–1924: Politics, Land, Labor, and Criminality, was published in 2014 and recognized by the Arkansas Historical Association with the J. G. Ragsdale Book Award for best book on Arkansas history as well as the John W. Graves Book Award for the best book on race relations in the state. The volume also earned the Booker Worthen Prize for best book by a central Arkansas author. Bullets and Fire: Lynching and Authority in Arkansas, 1840–1950, a collection of essays edited by Lancaster, won the 2018 John W. Graves Book Award. Lancaster also edited the volume of essays The Elaine Massacre and Arkansas: A Century of Atrocity and Resistance, 1819–1919, published by Butler Center Books in 2018. 

Legacies & Lunch is a hybrid program offering participants the opportunity to attend either in person or virtually via Zoom. To participate in person, join us at - NEW LOCATION - UA Little Rock Downtown (333 President Clinton Ave). Parking is available in the surface lot or the CALS Parking Deck which you can access from Rock Street. Parking will be validated. Bring your lunch; we will provide drinks and cookies. To participate virtually, register for the webinar using the button above. This program will be live-streamed to YouTube and the recording will be available immediately following the event.

Legacies & Lunch is a free monthly program of CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies about Arkansas-related topics.

Past Legacies & Lunch Events