African American Women Activists- Annie Mae Bankhead

This month at its commencement ceremony UALR will award an honorary doctorate to Marvell civil rights activist Gertrude Jackson. Black women like Jackson were often crucial in mobilizing local communities. In one Pulaski County community, for example, Annie Mae Bankhead formed the Progressive League of College Station in 1960. Bankhead provided leadership in helping College Station gain basic necessary services such as gas, electricity, running water and telephones. She promoted the Head Start program there and was appointed to the War on Poverty Advisory Committee by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Many people in Little Rock today are familiar with Annie Mae Bankhead Drive, near the Bill and Hilary Clinton National Airport, which was named in her honor in 1980. In 1987, she was named by Newsweek magazine as one of “America’s Unsung Heroes.” I’m John Kirk of the UALR History Department and this has been an Arkansas moment.