The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s profoundly affected African-Americans living in Arkansas. They used nonviolent systems to fight back at whites by participating in "sit-ins" at places where only whites were served. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act opened up stores and public buildings to all races and the Civil Rights Act of 1965 gave equal voting rights to all citizens. Students at Philander Smith College would participate in sit-ins and march on the Arkansas State Capitol. Voting rights had been extended to African-Americans prior to 1965 when the poll tax was abolished and a register system and voting machines were used to create honest voting. The number of registered African-American voters grew by 70 percent between 1940 and 1970, but the number of legislators remained low well into the 1980s. Some of the first African-Americans placed in state government offices since Reconstruction were under Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller's administration. They served on the pardons and parole board, county boards of welfare and state college boards.
Throughout Arkansas's history, some of the most successful and powerful people are African-American. In the arts, Art Porter was an accomplished pianist and Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was a famous blues musician during the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1970s, the first African-American justice to serve on the Arkansas Supreme Court, George Howard, was given the position. Writer and poet, Maya Angelou or Stamps, became internationally famous for her autobiographical book, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." In politics, Ozell Sutton of Gould served on the Little Rock Housing Authority and as special assistant to Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller. Daisy Bates of Huttig was instrumental in pushing for desegregation in Little Rock and wrote the acclaimed book, "The Long Shadow of Little Rock," that chronicled events of 1957. Lottie Shackleford served as mayor of Little Rock from 1987 through 1988 and was considered by Esquire magazine to be one of the 40 most influential African-Americans who will shape the next two decades (1987). Sports figures such as Nolan Richardson, coach of the Arkansas Razorback basketball team and Sidney Moncrief, coach of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans basketball team, have added excitement to the athletics of Arkansas. At the national level, Rodney Slater of Marianna, serves at Secretary of Transportation while Jocelyn Elders of Little Rock was the U.S. Surgeon General during President Bill Clinton's first administration.
