Ruminations on George Howard, Jr.

The latest UALR Law Review contains several tributes to the late U.S. District Judge George Howard. Among them is a memorial from Eighth Circuit Judge Morris S. "Buzz" Arnold (pictured right with my dad and me). These are the very items that should be collected and kept at the Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History -- I thought this one was worth posting:

One of my very early memories is of my mother's efforts to assure equal treatment for African Americans who lived in Texarkana, our home town. She and a young attorney named Henry Woods involved themselves in the NAACP's effort to register Black voters in Miller County, Arkansas, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. (Most readers will know that Henry went on to become a renowned United States District Judge and colleague of Judge Howard's on the bench). As part of this effort, my mother received Mrs. John Jones, a Black lady who was a local NAACP leader, as a guest in our home to help plan strategy and logistics. I'm embarrassed to say that Mrs. Jones's entry through our front door and respectful reception in our living room scandalized some of our neighbors, a scorn that my mother wore as a badger of honor.