Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. and Police Chief Keith Humphrey addressed residents at events recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday with speeches that noted the halting progress of the movement for racial justice.
In remarks at separate events, both Scott and Humphrey condemned the riot that took place earlier this month at the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers prepared to certify President-elect Joe Biden's election victory.
For his part, Humphrey called the mob that stormed the Capitol "embarrassing" and "sickening," but ultimately unsurprising. He tied the riot to the larger theme of his address: the apparent inability to resolve conflicts peacefully in the context of violent crime in the city of Little Rock.
In a video message for a virtual day of service event hosted by the Central Arkansas Library System, Scott addressed the camera from the historic First Missionary Baptist Church in Little Rock.
Scott said he had "mixed emotions" when recognizing the holiday. He referred to the scope of change achieved as a result of King's fight to end legal segregation.
At the same time, the mayor noted the riot by President Donald Trump's supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, calling it a harsh reminder of the need to continually fight for democracy.
Civil rights triumphs by King and the civil rights movement "paved the way for Southern Black leaders like me and cause tremendous hope," Scott said. "And because of his relentless work, our country grinds towards the continuous goal of a more perfect union. But today, I also grieve at the realization that our country is in the midst of one of its most trying times.
"While the country prepares to swear in its new president and vice president on Wednesday," Scott added, "we also face the ever-present reality of those who are willing to commit violence to halt one of the country's most sacred attribute[s]: the peaceful transfer of power."
He said the "unrighteous insurrection" at the Capitol "brought us, yet again, face to face with the hate so many have committed their life's work to ending."
Scott praised King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, but explained that just as necessary to the movement was King's letter from the Birmingham jail.
"I love this letter because Dr. King held nothing back while he expressed the passion, agony and impatience of the oppressed," Scott said.
The mayor connected King's words about time becoming an ally of the forces of social stagnation, absent tireless efforts, to his own campaign theme of uniting Little Rock.
Now two years into his term, Scott said this theme "has been greatly tested as we fight against the condition of stagnation, with which we have become accustomed."
He referred to Little Rock's progress on a community schools program, an incentive package to spur development south of Interstate 630 and east of Interstate 30 as well as free Wi-Fi in city parks.
"These efforts, however, are not enough," Scott said. "In order to help Little Rock reach its true potential, we must be intentional about creating more sustained economic growth for those in our community who've been left out and left behind."
Additionally, Scott suggested the city must continue to unify the police department and "strengthen the relationships with the parts of our community that have been over-policed, yet underdeveloped."
To accomplish this, Scott called for directing resources and development opportunities in neglected neighborhoods and for increasing access to early childhood education.
"It's time to create universal pre-K," Scott said.
Soon after Scott's video message was played, at-large City Director Antwan Phillips spoke with illustrator Nate Powell.
Powell is an Arkansas native who illustrated the "March" trilogy of graphic novels by the late civil rights leader John Lewis and Lewis' co-author Andrew Aydin.
On Monday evening, Humphrey, who is Black, spoke to a couple dozen people at an event for the MLK holiday at the office of Nourish Wellness, a nutrition and fitness store on Kanis Road in Little Rock.
Humphrey told attendees that King would be "even more disappointed" with the events of today because of interpersonal conflicts which often seem to result in violence.
He referred to Black political representation achieved at the local, state and federal level. But Humphrey said that every time his phone goes off late at night with notice of a tragic situation, he wonders if there was any form of conflict resolution which could have been achieved with regard to the suspect or the victim. He referred to the 55 homicides that occurred in the city last year.
It's a problem for the city when two individuals cannot have a disagreement that does not end up in some type of violence, Humphrey said.
"Little Rock doesn't have a violent crime problem; Little Rock has a conflict resolution problem," Humphrey said. "That's what's going on in the nation right now. That's why I tell people, I know for a fact Dr. King would not be pleased."
It was a reprisal of a theme Humphrey brought up recently at a Dec. 28 news conference after a deadly weekend when four homicides were reported in Little Rock during a 24-hour period.
In his speech, Humphrey also seemed to refer to the divisions within the city's police department.
These divisions spilled into the open last year in the form of lawsuits targeting the police chief as well as a September letter signed by 10 police officials asking city officials for help with what they described as a dysfunctional police department festering under Humphrey's leadership.
Despite what people may have heard, Humphrey told attendees, "I'm a problem solver. I'm not the problem -- I'm a problem solver. But I say that 'cause I have to realize that I'm not going to please everybody."
Later, toward the end of his remarks, Humphrey pledged to "start that process of conflict resolution, that process of peace -- internally and externally."
He said he tells colleagues on a daily basis, "We can't stop conflict in the community if we don't clean our house inside the department."