HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-04-20 - Minutes -CITY OF
FAYETTEVILLE
ARKANSAS
MEETING MINUTES
Meeting of the Black Heritage Preservation Commission
April 20, 2023 6:30 PM
RM 111 City Hall & Zoom
NOTE: The April 20, 2023 Black Heritage Preservation Commission meeting was held
virtually and in person, with commissioners attending remotely or in person. Staff were
present in person.
Members: Council Member D'Andre Jones, Chair J.L. Jennings, Vice Chair Lois Bryant,
Veronica Huff, Wendell Huggins, Kaleb Turner, and Shawn Walker
City Staff: Britin Bostick - Long Range Planning & Special Projects Manager
Call to Order: 6:31 pm
In Attendance: Chair JL Jennings, Vice Chair Lois Bryant, Veronica Huff, Wendell Huggins,
Kaleb Turner, Shawn Walker, Council Member Sarah Moore, Dr. Michael Pierce, and Britin
Bostick
Welcome to New and Returning Commissioners: Chair Jennings welcomed Commissioner
Huggins back to the Commission and Commissioner Huff to the Commission. Bostick noted
herself as the staff support to the commission. Council Member Moore thanked the
Commissioners for their service to the community.
Approval of Minutes from the March Meeting: Commissioner Turner noted that in the March
minutes he had been titled "Council Member Turner". Bostick located the error at the end of the
document and marked the correction. Motion to accept the March minutes with all corrections as
stated by Chair Bryant, second by Commissioner Huggins. Motion approved 6-0-0.
Juneteenth Planning: Chair Jennings turned the floor over to Commissioner Turner and
welcomed Dr. Pierce, Professor at the University of Arkansas. Commissioner Turner asked for
confirmation for some planning details for the event and asked Bostick to provide some
scheduling details to bring everyone up to speed. Bostick noted concerns about overlapping
with the Springdale event, typically held on a Saturday and to her knowledge planned for the
17th this year, although the event website had not been updated as of this meeting. Also looking
at Mayor's availability for a proclamation and a Thursday evening event in the region for
Juneteenth, the evening of Friday the 16th seemed to not present any scheduling conflicts. A
6:00pm event could be staffed by Media Services — podium, speakers, video, etc.
Chair Jennings asked if the entire event would take place at the marker. Bostick clarified that
only the unveiling portion and related speakers would be planned for that. Could close the street
for safety. Vice Chair Bryant asked if the entire event would be outdoors? Bostick said that
additional portions of the event could take place indoors although the goal would be for the
unveiling itself to be outdoors if possible.
Mailing Address:
113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Commissioner Turner commented on his coordination with the Pryor Center to host events in
conjunction with the unveiling, especially for educational presentations. Pryor Center is in
support and lecture space comes with 100 chairs, microphones, and screens for presentations.
Atrium space could be available as well, including the Juke Joint, which is organized by the
Northwest Arkansas Education Initiative. Live music performance may be a possibility with local
Black artists working in collaboration with the exhibit.
Chair Jennings invited Dr. Pierce to share his ideas for the event. Dr. Pierce spoke about goal
for educational programming at the Pryor Center about Nelson Hackett or more broadly Black
history of Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas, especially as so much history has been erased.
Maybe have programming for a couple of hours before the unveiling at the Pryor Center, then
move over across the Square. There is work investigating the Black cemetery on East
Mountain, work at NWAC on an enslaved man who became a lumber titan after Emancipation
and supplied the lumber for Old Main. There are more stories to tell.
Vice Chair Bryant asked how long the entire event would be planned for. Commissioner Turner
suggested a couple of hours of programming before the unveiling, 15-20 minutes for the
unveiling ceremony. Bostick noted that there would be good photo opportunities so maybe 30
minutes. Chair Jennings asked for a reception following the unveiling. Commissioner Huff noted
the live music could be with the reception, and community could be invited. This could include
other collaborative work like a documentary or video of people speaking about Fayetteville
history. Commissioner Huggins said the Juke Joint area is nice and he has attended some
events there. Some attendees may recall the old Sherman's. Dr. Pierce mentioned Orson
Weaves' support of the Nelson Hackett Project.
Commissioner recapped the interest in educational programming an hour or two before the
unveiling at the Pryor Center, the unveiling at the marker around 6, then a reception outside the
Pryor Center in the atrium at 6:30. Dr. Pierce asked if there could be a representative of the
University speaking at the unveiling. Bostick assented.
Commissioner Turner moved to his third point for feedback, the invitation list. Bostick offered to
communicate directly with city staff. Also mentioned the Black History Commission of Arkansas.
Commissioner Turner offered to work up an invite email attachment. Speakers at the unveiling
were listed as the Mayor, Chair Jennings, someone from the University, and a representative
from the community. Commissioner Huggins asked about advertising the event specifically to
people of color via web and social media. Bostick noted city could do press release and social
media and that she needs to work with Parks on an installation date but that phone calls, word
of mouth, and other ways could also be used. Vice Chair Bryant agreed with word of mouth
communication and that the John L Colbert Middle School dedication would be the 15tn
Perhaps an announcement could be announced at that event? Chair Jennings offered to work
on a contact. Commissioner Turner offered to work with the University's communication
channels such as the Arkansas News, which goes out to 70,000 people. Vice Chair Bryant
offered to contact Black church secretaries to put information on church bulletins. Commissioner
Turner mentioned the Fayetteville Flyer.
Dr. Pierce asked if there would be money for the event. The Pryor Center is offering the use of
their space cost-free. Various points of discussion were made about contacts for funding and
funding options. Chair Jennings asked Bostick how they would go about making a request to the
City Council for funding. Bostick replied she was not sure as she had not yet made a request for
an event and does not currently have much event budget. She made a distinction between
Council Member requests and staff requests in timing and said it would be helpful to know the
specifics of what would be needed. Dr. Pierce also offered to check whether he would have
funding available from the University. Commissioner Turner asked everyone to contribute to the
invite list and offered to work with Bostick on follow-up items. Asked Dr. Pierce to coordinate the
educational programs starting around 4:00pm.
Identifying and Recognizing Fayetteville's Historic Black Neighborhoods: Bostick spoke to
one of the preservation plan action items being to recognize historic sites, places and people in
Fayetteville's history that are part of Black history and heritage. Bostick noted that Council
Member Jones had requested this item and wanted to start working on identifying places but
was not able to attend this meeting. Commissioners agreed to table the discussion to a later
meeting when Council Member Jones could provide more details. Council Member Moore
expressed her excitement for the Commission's work and noted potential for budget implications
and asked if those could be presented to the Council as a package, including celebration events
and any others for work for the rest of the year. Bostick noted some of the plan implementation
items being part of a request she might make but that the Commission would not be limited to
that. She additionally spoke to the timing of asks, noting her request process may take longer
than a Council Member's. Chair Jennings voiced his appreciation to Council Member Moore for
her prompt to think about budget and asked for the item to be placed on next month's agenda.
Commissioners to think about budget asks for the next 1-2 years.
Citywide Historic Preservation Master Plan Draft Review & Update: Bostick announced the
second public meeting for the plan on Wednesday, April 26 at 4:00 at the Fayetteville Public
Library, with the last meeting for the plan on Zoom in July. Information is available on the project
website and staff is taking comments on the plan document — needing to send those to the
project consultant on the first of May. Bostick recapped the comments staff has received from
the community so far, then laid out the process and timeline for review, including a last look and
recommendation to the City Council in the June meeting for Council to consider in their July 18
meeting. Bostick reiterated that the action plan items would need funding and discussed some
of the details of historic surveys and the need to be thoughtful about how to intentionally include
structures related to African American history that may not be included in traditional survey
methods as the traditional survey model is meant to capture structures generally with resources
for longevity, which not all parts of the community had access to.
Adjourn: 7:12pm