Giving | NewsJune 13, 2025

UAFS Students Embark on Somber Summer History Course

Written By: Ian Silvester

Students from the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith spent the first part of summer break learning about the somber history of civil rights.

For nearly three weeks, 32 Myles Friedman Honors Program students and five Ray Gosack Civic Engagement Endowment recipients traveled with professors along what was dubbed the “Civil Rights Trail Maymester.” The domestic Maymester was spent in and around the Little Rock area, as well as Memphis.

“I believe there is great value in more deeply exploring that which is right next to us,” explained Dr. Daniel Maher, professor of anthropology and sociology and department chair of history, social sciences, and philosophy. “Just within a 200-mile radius of Fort Smith, there are many important historical events and sites to visit. … American social history took place everywhere, and there are always rich sources of learning, no matter where you are.”

This year’s trip took the group of 37 students first to Little Rock, where they stopped at the Sequoyah National Research Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The trip progressed around Little Rock, with students visiting the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, the Struggle of the South mural by Joe Jones, and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center to review the museum’s record of civil rights in Arkansas.

The highlight of Little Rock came during a visit to one of the most notorious sites of the American Civil Rights era: Little Rock Central High School.

“Often, the most impactful moments are unplanned and unscripted. We met someone along the way who resonated with students. That focused attention leads to amazing experiences,” Maher said, recalling watching students cling to the words of Ranger Jazmyn from the Little Rock Central High School Historic Site.

Before crossing the Mississippi River to Memphis, the class made two more stops in the Arkansas Delta – McGehee and Elaine.

In McGehee, students toured Japanese Internment Camps and were able to view original documents and art. Further north, in Elaine, the group learned about the Elaine Massacre, a racially motivated attack in the fall of 1919 that led to the reported deaths of at least 100 Black community members.

The Maymester continued in Memphis, where students visited Stax Records and the National Civil Rights Museum. On the return to Fort Smith, the class made a final stop in Scott to see the Plum Bayou Mounds Archeological State Park.

Each day concluded with students debriefing with one another and professors, as well as individually, to reflect on the history made real to them.

“Walking in the precise spaces in which history has occurred has a powerful impact on learning and understanding that material,” Maher said.

Students were encouraged to use multimedia, like podcasting or video, to document their experiences, conceptualize what they learned, and collectively create a virtual trail of civil rights history across the region for others to follow.

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The Ray Gosack Civic Engagement Endowment is used by UAFS programs and initiatives to award students with assistance to participate in activities that promote civic learning and engagement.

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