Reverend Arthur L. Hardge - University of Rhode Island Main Campus - South Kingstown, RI - Civil Rights Memorials on Waymarking.com

In South Kingstown, on the main campus of the University of Rhode Island, is a statue and plaque in honor of Reverend Arthur L. Hardge. The auditorium in the building behind is also named after him.

The building is located northwest of the campus quad, about a block south of the university's library. The main entrance to the university is on Upper College Road, which is off Rhode Island Route 138. We parked in a public lot east of the Fine Arts Building and walked around the campus from there. There may be closer lots.

The statue is along a campus road, in front of the Multicultural Center. It is a larger than life bronze sculpture of a head, torso and arms of a man in religious clothes, holding a religious book. The sculpture is on a stone pillar. There is a plaque on the pillar with the following text:

"This memorial honors the life and work of the Reverend Arthur. L. Hardge, born in 1927, a man who led by serving his brothers and sisters until his death in 1983. He was the child of many cultures: Africa, Europe, and those first Americans who lived on this land. The great grandson of a man who had his fingers lopped off for teaching and preaching. Arthur Hardge had a passion for learning that could not be so easily quelled.

Rev. Hardge was a minister from the age of seventeen. He was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, jailed in Florida for refusing to leave a restaurant reserved for whites and later becoming the first black man in Rhode Island to head a state agency, creating jobs and hope for those who had little of either.

Building on a program established by Harold Langlois and assisted by Leo DiMaio, Rev. Hardge later founded the Special Programs for Talent Development at the University of Rhode Island, in which "The Rev" and "Mr. D" changed the lives of young me and women. From those whom others gave no chance to succeed, Rev. Hardge built a new generation of doctors and lawyers, teachers and nurses, leaders of business and government, music and theater -- the pride of this University. It was, he liked to say, "always a pleasure."

In his name, we dedicate
ourselves to justice, equality and opportunity for all.

Dedicated September 12, 2000"

URI - Multicultural Center:
(visit link)

Civil Right Type: Race (includes U.S. Civil Rights movement)

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