Silas Hunt Memorial Sculpture - University of Arkansas - Fayetteville AR
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Where's George
N 36° 04.161 W 094° 10.312
15S E 394472 N 3992275
"The Silas Hunt Memorial Sculpture, located between Old Main and the Academic Support Building, was created by University of Central Arkansas professor of art Bryan Massey Sr."
Waymark Code: WMKR1F
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 05/19/2014
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member silverquill
Views: 3

A September 6, 2012 article from The Fayetteville Flyer tells of this sculpture -

"A sculpture honoring Silas Hunt, the first African-American law student at the University of Arkansas, was dedicated on the UA campus last week.

The Silas Hunt Memorial Sculpture, located between Old Main and the Academic Support Building, was created by University of Central Arkansas professor of art Bryan Massey Sr.

The sculpture is the first work of art commissioned by the university’s Public Art Oversight Committee, a group formed in 2009 as part of a major drive to increase the amount of art on display in outdoor areas throughout campus.

“We have a responsibility as the state’s flagship university to create a cultural experience for students, alumni and visitors,” said UA Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “The Northwest Arkansas region has become an international art destination, and the university should be a part of the pilgrimage.”

The nine-foot-tall sculpture is made of limestone and steel, and includes two bronze medallions – one that shows Hunt next to a sign that reads, “The University of Arkansas,” and another that depicts the university’s Academic Support Building where the law school was located when Hunt attended in 1948. Four black metal markers stand near the monument, three topped with gold plaques that tell the story of Hunt’s brief enrollment at the university."

- above text, including Quick Description, from (visit link)

Text of nearby markers -

Silas Herbert Hunt pioneered the integration of higher education in Arkansas and the South, enrolling at the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1948 and becoming the first African-American student to successfully seek admission to a southern university since reconstruction. Hunt was born to Jessie Gulley Moton and R.D. Hunt on March 1, 1922, in the community of Red Bluff near Ashdown, Arkansas. He earned distinction as president of Booker T. Washington High School in Texarkana and graduated as Class Salutatorian in 1941. Hunt enrolled in the Agricultural, Mechanical, and Normal College at Pine Bluff, now known as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, but his studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the second world war. He served with construction engineers in Europe for nearly two years before being wounded at the Battle of the Bulge. Returning to the United States, he finished his bachelor of arts in English in 1947. Although Hunt had been accepted for admission at the University of Indiana, he was inspired to change course by a classmate, Ada Lois Sipuel, who was then pursuing legal action to overturn the University of Oklahoma’s policy against admission of black students. Hunt decided to seek admission to the University of Arkansas. On February 22, 1948, Hunt – accompanied by classmate Wiley Branton, attorney Harold Flowers, and photographer Geleve Grice – met with Robert Leflar, dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law, who reviewed Hunt’s academic record and admitted him into the law school. Hunt’s instruction was initially segregated from white students, although white students often sat in on his class. By mid-summer of that year Hunt had contracted tuberculosis, and he died nine months later on April 22, 1949, at the Veteran’s Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. He is buried at Stateline Cemetery in Texarkana. Campus officials described Hunt as a confident and intelligent student whose sensitive way of dealing with others dampened the embers of conflict before they gained flame. His pioneering achievement soon led to the admission of other African-American students at the University of Arkansas and set in motion the eventual racial integration of universities across the southern United States. In honor of his achievements, the University of Arkansas awarded Hunt a posthumous law degree in 2008 and created a legacy award to recognize the achievements of African-American alumni, faculty, and staff who have contributed significantly to the betterment of Arkansas and the nation.
Title: Silas Hunt Memorial Sculpture

Artist: Bryan Massey Sr.

Media (materials) used: The nine-foot-tall sculpture is made of limestone and steel, and includes two bronze medallions -Four black metal markers stand near the monument, three topped with gold plaques

Location (specific park, transit center, library, etc.): University of Arkansas campus, near Old Main

Date of creation or placement: September 2012

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