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.

Arkansas in Song: A Place, Its People, and Aspects of Musical Identity

Open Until November 20th

The history of Arkansas is one of challenge and the way those provocations of nature and man are met by those who seek to live in this Land of Opportunity, this Natural State. Throughout time, people of Arkansas have lifted their voices to articulate joys and sorrow, aspirations and disappointment and to shout hosannas or gird their faith in the sacred and the political. Often, those voices have wrapped their words in melody, singing to erase troubles, or share their emotional state and social observations with all their neighbors within earshot.

And, as time and circumstances pass and change, those voices carried further and farther, from the voices and ears gathered at a community dance or town gathering, to lyrics and music transcribed onto sheet music, to the wonder of tunes rising from an early phonograph, to the miracle of radio, making the world a bit smaller while unmasking the reality of its vastness, as families sat by its buzzing speaker to hear news, dreams, and always song.

Technological advances in mediums have continued, from shellac to vinyl, from LPs to 8-tracks, cassettes to CDs and currently to streaming. Still, these voices call us, like sirens, inspiring and confirming. From glorious musicals to broadcast channels, America has watched and listened, cheered and criticized and found us nodding not only with the beat, but with the message.

In those singers and songs, we search for ourselves – the self we are and the self we want to create. Social groups are formed and others broken up by amusement Americans are drawn to. Some entertainment spreads worldwide, while others remain regional or local. Certain states are automatically identified with artists and music types, while some entertainers become worldwide figures and the stuff of legend.

And so, it is with Arkansas that we take pride in those who represent us on a larger stage. From Johnny Cash to Sister Rosetta Tharpe. From Jimmy Driftwood to Al Green. We bask in their accomplishments and are saddened by their tragedies. We are also embarrassed by their all too human foibles. And often, the character of these singers and songs defines us. We hear our voice in these songs and remold ourselves to better reflect those characteristics. These may be songs and singers of patriotic themes, of protest, of faith, of love, of sorrow, or of fun. However they are perceived, they become a rhythmic aspect of the heart of Arkansas and its people.

Arkansas in Song: A Place, Its People, and Aspects of Musical Identity is in the central gallery of the DCC Visitor Center. The end date for this wonderful exhibition is scheduled for November 20. Throughout this period, there will be educational and entertainment programs planned to highlight its importance as part of the Arkansas 250 celebration.