Building For Tomorrow: E.C. Morris, Centennial Church and the Black Baptists During Jim Crow

This extraordinary new exhibition explores the role of the Baptist Church in the lives of African Americans during the turbulent period of Jim Crow, as they navigated the difficulties and hardships of a segregated country.  Visitors, as they enter the South Gallery of the Delta Cultural Center, will first notice the large replica stain glass window that symbolizes the church. It is if they have been reborn in the past and are looking into this window to see what is happening in a church of that era. From that point, guests will be able to read and study numerous historical panels that depict the expansion of the Baptist Church throughout the Arkansas Delta and into the lives of African Americans. 

Activists such as Booker T. Washington and others used this religious awakening to further the cause of reform, but it was through the tireless labor of one Arkansan that the church rose to new levels of importance. That Arkansan was the Reverend Elias Camp Morris, who rose to national prominence through his work with the National Baptist Convention. In addition to his work in politics, Morris was the pastor at Centennial Baptist Church in Helena, Arkansas from 1879 to his death in 1922. Centennial was an example of an early megachurch with nearly a thousand members and was a beacon of light for all African Americans in the area. E.C. Morris was also president of the Black Arkansas Baptist State Convention for 35 years and helped start a seminary in Little Rock that eventually became Arkansas Baptist College.  There is a life size replica of Morris at his podium and interactive displays which feature a number of his speeches that visitors may listen to. In addition to the church, there are also displays and information panels dealing with the role of fraternal organizations like the Knights of Pythias and the Masons.

"Bison" A Traveling Exhibit Exploring the Past, Present and Future of this Great North American Mammal

The Delta Cultural Center will host "Bison: A traveling exhibit exploring the past, present and future of this great North American mammal" from August 12 to October 21, 2023, in the center gallery at 141 Cherry Street in Helena. The exhibit will open with a reception on Thursday, August 24, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. In addition to the general public, all area educators are welcome to attend and learn about this exhibit and other events happening at the DCC. 

The exhibit explores the significance of bison to the Plains people as a source of food, clothing, shelter and tools. That co-existence changed dramatically with the closing of the frontier which brought new settlers with livestock to compete for grass. Hunted almost to extinction in the late 19th century, bison numbers are stable today due to the efforts of conservationists. 

Based on a project by the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana, "Bison" originally toured through the NEH On the Road program as "The Bison: American Icon." The National Buffalo Foundation acquired the exhibit at the end of the tour. Refurbished and updated, it is available to museums across the U.S. and Canada to tell the tragic history of this majestic animal, its rescue from near extinction and the story of people across North America working to preserve the bison as a vibrant part of our future. 

The "Bison" exhibit is toured by Kaufman Museum on behalf of the National Buffalo Foundation. For more information, visit www.BisonExhbit.com .