The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission is offering travel grants to help Arkansas students visit two museums to learn how the war affected blacks in the state, commission chairman Tom Dupree announced.
The Let Freedom Ring grants of up to $750 will be available through the fall school semester for school groups to take the educational field trips. Students can visit the "Freedom! Oh, Freedom!" exhibit at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock, and Freedom Park and the Delta Cultural Center in Helena-West Helena.
The sites chosen are focused on "providing interpretation of the African-American experience in Civil War Arkansas," Dupree said.
The commission "is focusing on the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which outlawed slavery, during 2015, the final year of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War," Dupree said. Continuing the grants will be "keeping with that goal," he added.
Grant applications are available through the Arkansas Humanities Council, 407 President Clinton Ave., Suite 201, Little Rock, Ark. 72201. Deadlines are the first of each month through November. Applicants must contact the museum they choose to visit to schedule a field trip prior to applying for the grant. Admission to the museums is free.
The grants are through the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.
More information on Civil War sesquicentennial activities and plans is available online at arkansascivilwar150.com.
Metro on 08/23/2015