Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History Dr. John Kirk

Dr. John Kirk is an internationally recognized civil rights historian who specializes in US, southern and Arkansas civil rights history.

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Books

‍Winthrop Rockefeller: From New Yorker to Arkansawyer, 1912-1956. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2022. Received the Booker Worthen Literary Prize from the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) for best work of fiction or non-fiction by an author living in Arkansas and the John G. Ragsdale Book Award from the Arkansas Historical Association for best book on Arkansas history. ‍
The Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 2020. · Race and Ethnicity in Arkansas: New Perspectives. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2014. ‍
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. London and New York: Pearson, 2013. · Arsnick: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Arkansas. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2011. Co-edited with Jennifer Jensen Wallach. ‍
An Epitaph for Little Rock: A Fiftieth Anniversary Retrospective on the Central High Crisis. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2008. Foreword by Juan Williams. · Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement: Controversies and Debates. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. ‍
Beyond Little Rock: The Origins and Legacies of the Central High Crisis. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2007. Foreword by Minnijean Brown Trickey. · Martin Luther King, Jr. London and New York: Pearson Longman Profiles in Power series, 2005. ‍
Redefining the Color Line: Black Activism in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1940-1970. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002. Received the John G. Ragsdale Book Award from the Arkansas Historical Association for best book on Arkansas history.

Book Chapters

“Sweet Willie Wine’s 1969 Walk against Fear: Black Activism and White Response in East Arkansas Fifty Years after the Elaine Massacre.” In Race, Labor, and Violence in the Delta: Essays to Mark the Centennial of the Elaine Massacre, edited by Michael Pierce and Calvin White Jr., Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2022. Winner of the 2024 John William Graves Book Award from the Arkansas Historical Association for best book on Black Arkansas history.
“From Representation by the Elite Few to the Mobilisation of the Masses: The Long Grassroots Struggle for Black Voting Rights in Arkansas since the 1860s.” In (Re-)mobilising Voters in Britain and the United States: Political Strategies from Parties and Grassroots Organizations (1867-2020), edited by Gregory Benedetti and Veronique Molinari, 47-76. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter, 2021.
“Going Off the Deep End: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Desegregation of Little Rock’s Public Swimming Pools.” Article republished in Readings in Arkansas Government and Politics, edited by Kim U. Hoffman, Janine A. Parry, and Catherine C. Reese, 285-308, Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, second edition 2019.
“Sue Cowan Morris (1910-1994): An Educator and the Little Rock, Arkansas, Classroom Teachers’ Salary Equalization Suit.” In Arkansas Women: Their Lives and Times, edited by Cherisse Jones-Branch and Gary T. Edwards, 179-196. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2018.
“Sue Cowan Williams and the Little Rock Classroom Teacher’ Salary Equalization Suit.” In The True Worth of a Race: African American Women and the Struggle for Freedom, edited by Lopez D. Matthews, Jr. and Kenvi C. Phillips, 21-44. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform: Association of Black Women Historians, 2013.
“Another Side of the Sit-Ins: Nonviolent Direct Action, the Courts, and the Constitution.” In From Sit-Ins to SNCC: The Student Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, edited by Iwan Morgan and Phillip Davies, 23-40. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012.
“The Origins of SNCC in Arkansas: Little Rock, Lupper, and the Law.” In Arsnick: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Arkansas, edited by Jennifer Jensen Wallach and John A. Kirk, 3-22. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2011.
“Housing, Urban Development and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the Post-Civil Rights South.” In The New Black History: Revisiting the Second Reconstruction, edited by Manning Marable and Elizabeth Kai Hinton, 19-34. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. · “A Southern Road Less Travelled: The 1966 Arkansas Gubernatorial Election and (Winthrop) Rockefeller Republicanism in Dixie.” In Painting Dixie Red: When, Where, Why, and How the South Became Republican, edited by Glenn Feldman, 172-197. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2011.
“’They Say…New York is Not Worth a D—n to Them’: The NAACP in Arkansas, 1918-1971.” In Long is the Way and Hard: One Hundred Years of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, edited by Kevern Verney and Lee Sartain, 219-234. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2009.
“Massive Resistance and Minimum Compliance: The Origins of the 1957 Little Rock School Crisis and the Failure of School Desegregation in the South.” In Massive Resistance: Southern Opposition to the Second Reconstruction, edited by Clive Webb, 76-98. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
“Daisy Bates, the NAACP and the Little Rock School Crisis: A Gendered Perspective.” In Gender in the Civil Rights Movement, edited by Peter Ling and Sharon Monteith, 17-40. New York: Garland Press, 1999; reprinted in paperback by New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2004.
“Arkansas, the Brown Decision and the 1957 Little Rock School Crisis.” In Understanding the Little Rock Crisis: An Exercise in Remembrance and Reconciliation, edited by Elizabeth Jacoway and C. Fred Williams, 67-82. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1999.
“‘He Founded a Movement’: W. H. Flowers, the Committee on Negro Organizations and Black Activism in Arkansas, 1940-1957.” In The Making of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement in America, edited by Brian Ward and Tony Badger, 29-44. London: Macmillan, 1996.

Journal Articles

“The Arkansas Incident: African American Soldiers and World War II.” Forthcoming, Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Co-authored with Seminar in Public History students Oluseyi Noah Adebanjo, Ben Lane, Annika B. Larson, Alexander McKee, Hannah Sherman, Ellen Wellman, and Kacey Wooster.
“Challenging All-Black Juries: The Case of Christopher Columbus ‘C. C.’ Haraway.” Forthcoming, Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Co-authored with Seminar in Public History students Aiyana Burgess, Ryan Cabico, Carlie Cowgill, Jessica Gates, Terry L. Hunkapiller, John Morris, Sarah Peters, and William Tanner.
“Capital Punishment in Arkansas: The Case of Mary Dinwiddie.” Forthcoming, Arkansas Historical Quarterly.
“Challenging All-White Juries: The Cases of the Bone Brothers, 1938-1940.” Forthcoming, Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Co-authored with Seminar in Public History students Armando Arellano, Mikaela Bailey, Charles Bonet, Scott T. Bradshaw, Mary Alice Chambers, Jackelyn R. Cordova-Romano, Jerry Griffin, Jayla Henderson, Jacob Hicks, Caitlin Robertson, Koriatorshia Robinson, Margaret Stone, and Isaac Wolter.
“Little Rock University and the Desegregation of Higher Education in Arkansas.” Forthcoming, Arkansas Historical Quarterly.
“’This Bunch of Narrow-Minded, Unamerican, Negro-Hating People’: Housing and Civil Rights in 1940s Fort Smith.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 83 (Autumn/Winter 2024 [2026]): 208-228.
“Lynching to Legal Lynching: The Arkansas ‘Scottsboro’ Cases, 1934-1939.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 82 (Autumn/Winter 2023 [2025]): 141-170. Co-authored with Seminar in Public History students Dora Bradley, Revis Edmonds, Emily Housdan, Kristen Miller, Harrison Mitchell, Britney Reding, and Kellie Solomon.
“Criminal Justice in the Age of Segregation: The Arkansas Cases of Robert Bell and Grady Swain.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 81 (Spring 2022 [2023]): 19-45. Co-authored with Seminar in Public History students Kathleen Burell, Brittany Fugate, Christiane Hendricks, Ellis Eugene Thompson, Michael White, and Logan Yancey.
“An ‘Eyeball-to-Eyeball Kind of Organization’: Black United Youth and the Black Power Movement in Arkansas.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 75 (Autumn 2016): 206-238.
“The Killing of Carnell Russ: Civil Rights, Law Enforcement and the Courts.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 74 (Autumn 2015): 231-256.
“’Please help us’: The Fort Smith Congress of Racial Equality Chapter, 1962-1965.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 73 (Autumn 2014): 293-317.
“Going Off the Deep End: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Desegregation of Little Rock’s Public Swimming Pools.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 73 (Summer 2014): 138-163.
“Capitol Offenses: Desegregating the Seat of Arkansas Government, 1964-1965.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 72 (Summer 2013): 95-119.
“Why the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement is More Important than the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.” Reprinted in the Pulaski County Historical Review 60 (Fall 2012): 92-96.
“Not Quite Black and White: School Desegregation in Arkansas, 1954-1966.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 70 (Autumn 2011): 225-257.
“Why the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement is More Important than the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.” (Roundtable with Grif Stockley and Spirit Trickey). Arkansas Review 42 (August 2011): 117-126.
“Battle Cry of Freedom: Little Rock, Arkansas, and the Freedom Rides at Fifty.” Arkansas Review 42 (August 2011): 76-103.
“The NAACP Teachers’ Salary Equalization Campaign: African American Women Educators and the Early Civil Rights Struggle.” Journal of African American History Special Issue: “Documenting the NAACP’s First Century” 94:4 (Fall 2009): 529-552.
“Introduction.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly Special Issue: “The Little Rock School Crisis: A Fiftieth Anniversary Retrospective” 66: 2 (Summer 2007): 91-111.
“Housing, Urban Development and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the Post-Civil Rights South.” Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Society and Culture Special Issue: “The Black South since the Civil Rights Movement” 8:1 (Winter 2006): 47-60.
“‘A Study in Second-Class Citizenship’: Race, Urban Development and Little Rock’s Gillam Park, 1934-2004.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 64 (Autumn 2005): 262-286.
“State of the Art: Martin Luther King, Jr.” Journal of American Studies 38 (Autumn 2004): 329-47.
“The Little Rock Crisis and Postwar Black Activism in Arkansas.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 56 (Autumn 1997): 273-293.
“Dr. J. M. Robinson, the Arkansas Negro Democratic Association and Black Politics in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1928-1952.” Pulaski County Historical Review (Spring 1993): 2-16 and (Summer 1993): 39-47.

Film Documentaries

‍Dream Land: Little Rock’s West 9^thStreet, 2017. AETN, first broadcast April 6, 2017. Historical expert interviewed for and appearing in the documentary on Little Rock’s historic black downtown. ‍
Teach Us All, 2017. Written and directed by Sonia Lowman. Historical consultant credited in the titles. ‍
The Road to Little Rock: The Courage and Conviction of Judge Ronald Davies. Video Arts Studios, 2013. Historical consultant credited in the titles.‍
Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, 2012. Produced by Sharon a Cruise. Historical expert interviewed for and appearing in the documentary on the Arkansas civil rights leader. First aired on PBS’s Independent Lens series, February 2, 2012, to an audience of c. 5 million nationwide.

Newspaper Articles

“The Prelude to Rockefeller’s Rise in Arkansas: An Excerpt from a New Biography of Winthrop Rockefeller.” Arkansas Times, March 2022, 56-59.
“A Civil Rights Crossroads in Little Rock: The 1974 National Black Political Convention.” Arkansas Times, February 2020, 79-81.
“Model Schools: Winthrop Rockefeller’s Vision for Public Education Started in Morrilton.” Arkansas Times, January 2020, 77-79.
“Winthrop Rockefeller’s vision for public education started with Morrilton model school.” Arkansas Times, October 31, 2019.
“Walk Against Fear: 50 years ago, Sweet Willie Wine took a stand in the Arkansas delta.” Arkansas Times, April 2019, 85-86.
“The tossed year: Sixty years ago, Little Rock closed all its public high schools rather than desegregate them.” Arkansas Times, September 13, 2018, 12-13, 46.
“State case helped halt segregation: But Arkansas is turning the clock back.” Arkansas Times, March 22, 2018, 14-15.
“He Founded a Movement: How Pine Bluff attorney William Harold Flowers made the NAACP a force to be reckoned with in Arkansas.” Arkansas Times, February 1, 2018, 1, 16-19.
“The many meanings of Little Rock: Sixty years later, the city’s schools remain an enduring symbol.” Arkansas Times, September 21, 2017, 14-15.
“When Pine Bluff Jailed Dick Gregory: The comedian and civil rights activist was attempting to eat at a segregated diner in 1964.” Arkansas Times, September 14, 2017, 12-13.
“Plans for the homeless echoes Gillam Park’s history: It’s a dumping ground again.” Arkansas Times, July 20, 2017, 12-13.
“More Than Central High: A history of school desegregation in Arkansas.” Arkansas Times, February 2, 2017, 1, 16-19.
“The Life of Winthrop Rockefeller: Fifty years ago, the inauguration of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller contributed to a legacy of transformation in Arkansas.” Arkansas Times, January 19, 2017, 24-26.
“The Desegregation of Van Buren Schools: Despite white students staging a strike and burning an effigy of a black student, integration prevailed in 1957.” Arkansas Times, September 8, 2016, 12-13.
“Accidental Desegregation: Sixty years ago, Little Rock and other cities in Arkansas ended segregated buses because of a mistaken newspaper article.” Arkansas Times, July 7, 2016, 1, 14-19.
“Ninth Street Matters: The killing of a black army sergeant by a white city policeman on West Ninth Street in 1942 led to the appointment of black police officers.” Arkansas Times, March 17, 2016, 12-13.
“Why Black History Month?” The Forum, February 10, 2016, 2. Guest column in UALR student newspaper.
“Black Power in Arkansas: A history of the leaders—including Eldridge Cleaver—and events that were tied to the state.” Arkansas Times, February 4, 2016, 1, 12-16.
“The 1968 Little Rock Uprising: The death of a black teenager inspired massive protests.” Arkansas Times, September 10, 2015, 12, 37.
“The Black Teacher Pay Battle: Thurgood Marshall took the case nine years before Brown v. Board of Education set stage for later litigation.” Arkansas Times, June 11, 2015, 1, 14-17.
“A Different Kind of Republican: How Winthrop Rockefeller’s moderation paved the way for economic, political and social reform in Arkansas.” Arkansas Times, May 7, 2015, 1, 14-15, 17-19.
“Turning back the clock on civil rights: New anti-gay law forgets history.” Arkansas Times, February 26, 2015, 12, 14.
“The Long Fight For The Vote: The struggle for black voting rights and representation continues.” Arkansas Times, February 5, 2015, 1, 16-21.
“The Long Shadow of Carnell Russ’ Death: In 1971, a white Arkansas state trooper shot an unarmed black man over a $23 speeding ticket.” Arkansas Times, September 4, 2014, 1, 14-18.
“Houses Divided: The Roots of Little Rock’s Segregated Neighborhoods.” Arkansas Times, July 10, 2014, 1, 12-16.
“When Pools were Black and White: Integration lagged for swimmers in Little Rock.” Arkansas Times, February 6, 2014, 1, 12-17.
“Top Ten Books for Black History Month.” The Guardian (U.K.) published online October 16, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/16/top-10-books-black-history-month-king ‍
“Quiet Desegregation: Activists convinced Little Rock’s business establishment to act in the early 1960s.” Arkansas Times, September 5, 2013, 1, 14-17.
“Showdown at the Cafeteria: It took protests and the court to make the Capitol follow law.” Arkansas Times, February 14, 2013, 1, 14-18.
“The Election that Changed Arkansas Politics: Winthrop Rockefeller’s Historic 1966 Victory.” Arkansas Times, March 28, 2012, 13, 15-20, 22-23.
“Breaking the Color Line: SNCC Made It Work.” Arkansas Times, February 1, 2012, 1, 14-17.
“When the Freedom Riders Came to Little Rock: A 50th anniversary look back at a forgotten Civil Rights stand.” Arkansas Times, July 6, 2011, 1, 10-12.

Magazine Articles

“Arkansas Civil Rights Trail.” About You magazine, February 2019, 98-103. Republished February 2023, 108-111.
“The Long Struggle for Equality: The NAACP at 100.” History Today, February 2009, 52-58.
“Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Drum Major for Justice.” BBC History, April 2008, 50-51.
“Little Rock and the History of the Civil Rights Movement.” Historically Speaking: The Bulletin of the Historical Association 9:1 (September/October 2007): 28-31.
“Crisis at Central High.” History Today, September 2007, 23-30.
“Civil Rights Crisis Point in Arkansas.” BBC History, September 2007, 13.
“The Struggle of Black America.” BBC History, December 2005, 39-43.
“Brown, Black and White.” BBC History, May 2004, 36-38.

Radio

Arkansas Moments. 2011-present. Series of one-minute vignettes on Arkansas history broadcast by University of Arkansas at Little Rock NPR station KUAR. See the Arkansas Moments website for transcripts, podcasts, documents, and other assembled resources here: https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/show/arkansas-moments‍
“On the Battle Ground,” a 50-minute radio documentary based on my interview with Sue Cowan Williams, plaintiff in a landmark 1942 teacher salary equalization suit in Little Rock on “Arts and Letters,” KUAR (Little Rock), produced by J. Bradley Minnick, first broadcast Friday, February 12, 2021 https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/battle-ground Rebroadcast February 24 and 26, 2023.
“Redefining the Color Line,” a 50-minute radio documentary based on my interview with Arkansas’s Gov. Orval E. Faubus on “Arts and Letters,” KUAR (Little Rock), produced by J. Bradley Minnick, first broadcast Friday, January 8, 2021 https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/redefining-color-line ‍
Rockefeller Moments. Eight one-minute vignettes on the life and times of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller to commemorate the centennial of his birth, broadcast by University of Arkansas at Little Rock NPR station KUAR, 2012.
BBC World Service History Today. Contributor to a documentary on the 1957 Little Rock School Crisis, first broadcast October 26, 1997.

Podcasts and Audiobooks

Interviewed by and featured in Aiden Dixon and Kyle Kellams, Ozarks at Large episode “How Winthrop Rockefeller went from New York wealth to Petit Jean,” August 24, 2026 https://www.kuaf.com/show/ozarks-at-large/2026-08-24/how-winthrop-rockefeller-went-from-new-york-wealth-to-petit-jean‍
Interviewed by and featured in Gabrielle Brothers, “Little Rock School Crisis and School Desegregation,” episode #144 of the 250 Most Impactful Moments in American History series of podcasts by Fox New Radio to mark America’s semiquincentennial https://radio.foxnews.com/2026/06/03/145-141-peace-with-honor/ ‍
Interviewed by and featured in Adesuwa Agbonile, Backlash, an Original Recording Audiobook on Amazon.com, September 5, 2024 https://www.audible.com/pd/Backlash-Audiobook/B0DFRHXM45?showAmznLopSignalBanner =true ‍
Interviewed by and featured in Cliff Vaughn, A Second Language, a history of Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock, August 23, 2023 (six episodes) https://goodfaithmedia.org/a-second-language/ ‍
Interviewed by and featured in Derek Cash, Meet the Author: Dr. John Kirk Winthrop Rockefeller: From New Yorker to Arkansawyer, 1912-1956, North Little Rock Public Library System, July 29, 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSrP8o4qBm4
Interviewed by and featured in Abbey Hornacek’s Getting Schooled national Fox News radio podcast on October 3, 2022, https://radio.foxnews.com/2022/10/03/who-are-the-little-rock-nine/
Interviewed by and featured in Colin Woodward’s American Rambler podcast season 7, episode 1 about my book Winthrop Rockefeller: From New Yorker to Arkansawyer, 1912-1956, September 9, 2022, https://colinewoodward.com/2022/10/18/american-rambler-podcast-season-7-episode-1-john-a-kirk/
Interviewed by and featured in Rex Nelson’s Southern Fried podcast in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about my book Winthrop Rockefeller: From New Yorker to Arkansawyer, 1912-1956 March 25, 2022, https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/mar/25/rex-nelsons-southern-fried-podcast-john-kirk-discusses-winthrop-rockefeller-book/.
Interviewed by and featured in The Alarmist podcast episode The Aftermath: The Little Rock Nine https://play.acast.com/s/alarmist/theaftermath-littlerocknine first broadcast February 25, 2021.
Interviewed by and featured in The Alarmist podcast episode Little Rock Nine: Who is to Blame? https://play.acast.com/s/alarmist/littlerocknine-whoistoblame- first broadcast February 23, 2021.
Interviewed by and featured in Tina Matherson, Up From the Grave, https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/06/us/up-from-the-grave/ a series of five CNN podcasts on the 1959 fire at Wrightsville’s Arkansas Negro Boys’ Industrial School that resulted in the deaths of 21 black boys, June 2019.
Interviewed by and featured in Laura Dunnagan, Back to Little Rock, a series of five podcasts on race and ethnicity in postwar Little Rock, June 2019.
Interviewed Joyce Williams for Central Arkansas Libraries System Primary Sources podcast, February 2017. Highlights broadcast by Radio CALS (Central Arkansas Library System), produced by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, KABF 88.3, Little Rock, Arkansas, February 3, 2017.
Featured guest on Central Arkansas Libraries System Primary Sources podcast, October 2016.

Websites

“Rev. Charles Crawley Royal: Kansas City’s Hidden Figure in the Fight Against Segregation in Transportation,” 7,500-word article published on Kansas City Urban Public Library System’s Era of Rights: Kansas City’s Struggle for Equality website. The project is part of a wider Kansas City Monuments Coalition awarded a $4 million grant from the Mellon Foundation https://www.umkc.edu/news/posts/2025/january/mellon-foundation-awards-4-million-for-kansas-city-monuments-coalition.html‍
“Did Martin Luther King achieve his life’s dream?” iWonder BBC’s official website on King. Presented and curated since June 2015. http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/z86tn39

Apps

Developer and contributor to “Arkansas Civil Rights History Tour App,” a guided tour of Little Rock’s civil rights sites. A partnership project between the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, the City of Little Rock Mayor’s Tourism Commission and public radio station KUAR. Launched November 2, 2015. Incorporated into the U.S. Civil Rights Trail in 2018. Featured in the Arkansas-Democrat Gazettefor Black History Month 2018 http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/feb/06/civil-rights-history-tour-theres-app-tha/

Government Publications

“How Parties can Perform Remarkable Turnarounds in their Policies.” Government Gazette, March 2010, 48.

Reports

“Racial Attitudes in Pulaski County 2019 Annual Survey Report: Race, Ethnicity and Popular Culture.” Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity in partnership with the UA Little Rock Survey Research Center, released April 2019.
“Race and Ethnicity Minor Program.” Prepared for the UA Little Rock Institutional Effectiveness Committee, December 2018.
“Racial Attitudes in Pulaski County 2018 Annual Survey Report: Race, Ethnicity and Education.” Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity in partnership with the UA Little Rock Survey Research Center, released April 2018.
“Racial Attitudes in Pulaski County 2017 Annual Survey Report: Race, Ethnicity and Religion.” Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity in partnership with the UALR Institute of Government, released April 2017.
“Racial Attitudes in Pulaski County 2016 Annual Survey Report: Immigration.” UALR Institute on Race and Ethnicity in partnership with the UALR Institute of Government, released April 2016.

Encyclopedia Entries

“Bell and Swain v. State (a.k.a. Elbert Thomas, Reported Lynching of).” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 1,500 words. Published online 2024.
“Desegregation of Lower Arkansas Valley Schools.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2023 https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/desegregation-of-lower-arkansas-river-valley-schools-18612/ ‍
“Desegregation of Hot Springs Schools.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2023 https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/desegregation-of-hot-springs-schools-18609/
“Desegregation of Ozark Schools.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2023 https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/desegregation-of-ozark-schools-18611/
“Desegregation of Bentonville Schools.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2023 https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/desegregation-of-bentonville-schools-18613/
“Desegregation of Fort Smith Schools.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2023 https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/desegregation-of-fort-smith-schools-18610/
“National Black Political Convention (1974).” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2020 https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/national-black-political-convention-1974-9014/
“March Against Fear (1969).” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2019 https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/march-against-fear-1969-9013/
“Raney v. Board of Education.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2018 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=13855
“Gillam Park.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2017 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=12639
“Little Rock Uprising of 1968.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2016 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=9181
“Black Power Movement.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2015 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5226
“Black United Youth.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 750 words. Published online 2015 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=8250
“Urban Renewal.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2015 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=7856
“Carnell Russ (Killing of).” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 750 words. Published online 2014 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=8251
“Urban League.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 750 words. Published online 2014 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=7936
“Council on Community Affairs (COCA).” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 750 words. Published online 2014 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=7777
“Desegregation of Arkansas State Capitol.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 750 words. Published online 2014 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=7743
“Congress of Racial Equality.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2013 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6947
“Sit-Ins.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2011 http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=6921
“Freedom Rides.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2011 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=6852
“Desegregation of Van Buren Schools.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2011 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=6853
“National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 1,000 words. Published online 2010 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=4915
“Martin Luther King, Jr.” Routledge Companion to Race and Ethnicity. 1,000 words. New York: Routledge, 2010.
“Martin Luther King, Jr.” Encyclopedia of Modern Political Thought. 750 words. London: CQ Press, forthcoming.
“Martin Luther King, Jr.” In Encyclopedia of African Thought, edited by F. Abiola Irele and Biodun Jeyifo. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. 2,000 words.
“Media Representations of Martin Luther King, Jr.” The New Encyclopedia of Southern History, Volume 16, Media. 750 words. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011.
“Little Rock.” The New Encyclopedia of Southern History, Volume 17, Urbanization. 750 words. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.
“Little Rock Nine.” The New Encyclopedia of Southern History, Volume 17, Urbanization. 750 words. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.
“John Marshall Robison.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 750 words. Published online 2008 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=1751
“Arkansas Negro Democratic Association.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 750 words. Published online 2008 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=5564
“Civil Rights and Social Change.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 4,000 words. Published online 2008 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=4564
“Civil Rights (Twentieth Century).” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 4,000 words. Published online, 2007 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=4704
“Martin Luther King.” In The New Georgia Encyclopedia Companion to Georgia Literature, edited by Hugh Ruppersburg and John C. Inscoe, 265-71. 2,000 words. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2007.
“Martin Luther King.” In Visionaries of the 20th Century: A Resurgence Anthology, edited by Satish Kumar and Freddie Whitefield, 92-93. 2,000 words. Foxhole, UK: Green Books, 2006.
“William Harold Flowers.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. 500 words. Published online, 2006. http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1647
“Rosa Louise Parks.” The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Women’s Biography, edited by Jennifer Uglow and Maggy Hendry. Published online, 2005 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/mar/08/news8
“Martin Luther King, Jr.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 2,000 words. Published online, 2004 https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/martin-luther-king-jr-1929-1968/
“Arkansas,” (1,500 words), “Daisy Bates,” (250 words), “Wiley Branton,” (250 words), “Orval Faubus,” (250 words), and “William Jefferson Clinton,” (250 words). In Civil Rights in the United States, edited by Waldo E. Martin and Patricia Sullivan. New York: Macmillan Reference, 2000.
“William Harold Flowers.” Arkansas Biography. 1,000 words. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2000, 107-108.
“National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.” In Reader’s Guide to American History, edited by Peter Parish, 476-477. 1,000 words. London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.

Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History Dr. John Kirk

Published Works