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"The Circle" Recognized at Arkansas State

Johnathan Reaves, KASU News
Credit Johnathan Reaves, KASU News
The marker honoring the first four African American professors to teach at Arkansas State University. The four individuals . . . Dr. Wilbert Gaines, the late Dr. C. Calvin Smith, the late Dr. Mossie Richmond, and Dr. Herman Strickland . . .are named “The Circle”.

Courageous!  That description given as part of a recognition of the first four African American professors to teach at Arkansas State University.  The four individuals . . . Dr. Wilbert Gaines, the late Dr. C. Calvin Smith, the late Dr. Mossie Richmond, and Dr. Herman Strickland . . .are named “The Circle”.  Associate Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs Dr. Lonnie Williams says those families experienced hard times when they came to campus in the early 1970s.

“Desegregation was not an easy thing.  It was not 1957, but it still was hard for these families to do what they did in the atmosphere of the late ‘60’s and early 1970’s,” said Williams. 

Williams says the story of The Circle can help inspire future generations.

“The more a person can understand of where they are, it gives them a certain type of responsibility to learn the legacy that lead to them being there.”

Lonnie Williams.  As part of a dedication ceremony this summer, one of the residence halls under construction will be named in honor of those individuals.

Johnathan Reaves is the News Director for KASU Public Radio. As part of an Air Force Family, he moved to Arkansas from Minot, North Dakota in 1986. He was first bitten by the radio bug after he graduated from Gosnell High School in 1992. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked at KOSE, a small 1,000 watt AM commercial station in Osceola, Arkansas. Upon graduation from Arkansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Radio-Television Broadcast News, he decided that he wanted to stay in radio news. He moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas and worked for East Arkansas Broadcasters as news director and was there for 16 years.