The majority of African-Americans that arrived in Arkansas during the late 1700s and early 1800s were classified as slaves. At Arkansas Post, the slaves made up 14 percent of the population. With the growth of the population of Arkansas after the Louisiana Purchase, the slave population grew rapidly as white settlers began to utilize agriculture and the African-American labor force. By the 1860s, one of every four persons living in Arkansas was an African-American slave.
The population of slaves was greater in the eastern, southern and southwestern parts of Arkansas where cotton and other labor-dependent crops were found. It was lowest in the north and northwestern corner of the state where subsistence agriculture was the rule and a general anti-slavery feeling permeated society. When slaves were found in north Arkansas, they were usually toiling alongside their white owners. In large communities, such as Little Rock, it was not uncommon for a slave to be leased out to work in a blacksmith shop or other trade. The profits that were made by the slave were then given to his or her owner. Those who possessed valuable skills were able to improve their lifestyles and hold some power against their masters. Gifts and privileges, such as driving the white family into town, were dispensed to slaves who were considered indispensable.
Laws and slave patrols governed slave conduct in the early 1800s. Penalties, such as incarceration and beatings, were given to those who broke the laws. Examples of breaking the law included gathering together without permission of the slave's owner, running away or learning to read. Advertisements for runaway slaves ran continuously in antebellum newspapers. Once caught, a punishment might be given to the slave. One ex-slave recalled that his master would, "strip 'em to the waist and let their rags hang down from their hips and tie them down and lash them until the blood ran…" In rare situations, the Arkansas slave could also have a trial by jury as prescribed by the state legislature.
Between 1840 and 1860, the African-American slave population grew more rapidly. In Chicot County, slaves made up 81 percent of the total population. In general, these slaves were given food, housing and clothing. The slave was considered a valuable commodity and ranged in price depending on age, sex, skill level and physical health. It was reported that an average young male in Chicot County on the eve of the Civil War was worth around $800. Children were worth $100 and adult women around $1,000.
Slaves took on a number of jobs including planting, maintaining and harvesting crops; caring for livestock; chopping wood and felling trees; taking care of children; and housework. A slave's diet depended upon their owner's station in life and disposition. Lizzie McCloud, an ex-slave, remembered that she "et [ate] out of a trough with a wooden spoon. Mush and Milk…Didn't know what meat was. Never got a taste of eggs."
Slaves residences also depended upon their owner. Columbus Williams described his home as, "an old log house - one room, one door, one window, one everything" Their clothing was cast-off by the whites and from time to time they received new bolts of cloth to sew into wearable garments. These items were sometimes given at Christmas or weddings.
Slaves also attempted to control their environment through religion and entertainment. The Methodist Church had the most African-American members in Arkansas before the Civil War. Slaves went to church with the white owners, conducted their own services, or as Columbus Williams from Union County remembered, "[they] didn't have no church or nothing. No Sunday-schools, no nothin." Still, the religious services given to slaves often reflected their situation as chattels. White ministers would preach to the slaves, "Serve your masters, Don't steal your master's Turkey…chickens…hawgs…meat Do whatsomeever they tells you to do." Music also played an important part in the services and helped bring the slaves together through clapping and dancing.
The horror of slavery in Arkansas was reflected in the legal status of the slave. Slave marriages were not recognized by law, but often resulted in lasting unions. By law, the slave was considered "personal estate," and could be treated in the same manner as real estate. Slaves could be freed by their owner but were subject to payment to creditors if the owner had debts. Small communities of free slaves did exist in Arkansas before the Civil War. In Marion County, many free African-Americans lived in harmony until the Arkansas General Assembly passed a law that decreed all free slaves would be placed back into slavery if they did not leave the State of Arkansas by the end of 1860. With that law, there was a large migration of free African-Americans from the state.
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is Arkansas’s only state-funded museum dedicated to the story of African American life and business. When it opens in late 2007, the center will interpret Arkansas’s African American community through exhibits, oral history interviews, public forums and educational programming.
Delta Cultural Center
The plight of the African-Americans in the Arkansas Delta throughout the
first half of the 20th century is featured in the Delta Cultural Center's
permanent exhibit, "The Arkansas Delta: A Heritage of Determination." Part
of the exhibit's focus is on the trials and accomplishments of
African-Americans in the Delta. In addition, the Delta Cultural Center
offers a traveling exhibit, "A Land Given: 19th Century African-Americans in
the Arkansas Delta," on African-American contributions to the Delta. For
more information on this subject, please contact the
Delta Cultural Center
at (870) 338-4358 or (800) 358-0972.
Old
State House Museum
Quilts
made by Arkansas's African-American community from 1879 to the present
are a major collecting focus of the Old
State House Museum. Through quilting, many women and some men
expressed their individual creativity and deep, personal pride.
Though African-Americans could emulate traditional European-based
quilting styles if they had to, when quilting for themselves, they
rarely chose to do so. Instead, they redefined quilting in terms
of African-American sensibilities.
The
museum has been collecting the quilts because they represent an
invaluable part of rich Arkansas heritage that has not been widely
preserved or appreciated in years past. The historical and artistic
significance of these quilts has recently become the focus of much
national research by quilt historians, and scholars are just now
beginning to meaningfully interpret these unique forms of folk art.
For additional information,
please contact the Old
State House Museum at (501) 324-9685.
Arkansas
Historic Preservation Program
The
Arkansas
Historic Preservation Program has documented a number of historic
properties associated with ethnic and minority settlement in Arkansas.
The Wortham Gymnasium in Oak Grove (Nevada County) stands as a reminder
of the special school district created for the community's African-American population.
Arkansas
Arts Council
Kilimanjaro
combines African percussion and hand instruments with song, dance
and drama in a high-energy experience of African culture. Visit
Kilimanjaro in the "Arts on Tour" section of the Arkansas Arts Council
website at www.arkansasarts.com
or call (501) 224-0297.
Soprano Rosephanye
Dunn Powell performs recitals of African-American art songs and
Negro spirituals. Visit Rosephanye in the "Arts on Tour" section
of the Arkansas Arts Council website at www.arkansasarts.com
or call (501) 370-5340.
Storyteller
Zinse Agginie tells stories of Africa and other cultures using drums,
voice and other percussion. Visit Zinse in the "Arts on Tour" section
of the Arkansas Arts Council website at www.arkansasarts.com
or call (501) 224-0297.
Winners of
first place in the 1992 American Negro Spiritual Festival, the Philander
Smith Collegiate Choir from Philander Smith University in Little
Rock performs African-American spirituals as well as African and
gospel songs. Visit the choir in the "Arts on Tour" section of the
Arkansas Arts Council website at www.arkansasarts.com
or call (501) 370-5269.
