History Held in Place:
Humanities Research Program Guides Students into the Past
By Shelby Gill / Photos by Russell Cothren and Chieko Hara
Soft rain trickled through the branches as a group of honors students huddled beneath one of the larger trees in the cemetery. Oaks Cemetery sits adjacent to the National Cemetery of Fayetteville, a federal burial ground for veterans with matching headstones arranged in rigid, military precision—an organic foil to the irregular, time-worn plots just across the fence.
Yet Oaks’ sparse and varied markers are not an indication of emptiness. A recent analysis revealed the cemetery is nearly at capacity, though little is known about many of the people interred.
A significant number of Fayetteville’s Black residents who lived and died in the decades after the Civil War are buried in Oaks Cemetery, now listed in the Arkansas Registry of Historic Places. As the only site in the city specifically designated for African American burials, it holds lasting historical and cultural importance, preserving the legacy of newly freed generations and their descendants in Northwest Arkansas, according to the Division of Arkansas Heritage.
“I know many of you are interested in history,” said Henry Childress, a retired high school science teacher who helped revitalize the Community Club, the group responsible for maintaining Oaks Cemetery. “You understand the feeling of excitement when you uncover something you didn’t know was there.”
When Childress first encountered the cemetery, it was choked with brush, many of the headstones hidden from view. He told the students the story of a woman searching for her grandfather’s grave. She knew he was buried there, but the overgrown grass—tall above the knee—made the headstones nearly impossible to read. After a community-led cleanup, she finally found him.
The visit to Oaks Cemetery marked the beginning of a broader journey through Fayetteville’s layered past. The students were visiting cemeteries as part of the Honors Summer Humanities Research Scholars Program, which introduces undergraduates to the practice of primary source research—a collaboration between the Honors College and the University of Arkansas Libraries. This year’s focus was the historic Black community in south Fayetteville. Through workshops with historians, archivists and community members, students learned to conduct oral histories, gather and analyze primary sources and document overlooked local histories.
The program was facilitated by Lauren Willette, folk arts fieldwork coordinator, and Virginia Siegel, Arkansas folk arts professor of practice and Special Collections oral historian from the University of Arkansas Libraries. They were joined by Louise Hancox, senior director of career innovation, and Chelsea Hodge, director of grants and research innovation, from the Honors College.
“One barrier to graduating with honors is the intimidation factor of writing a thesis, so this program helps structure the research process to make it more approachable,” Hancox said. “Curiosity is the first step toward developing a meaningful research project.”
In the sciences, it’s common for students to train in a lab and learn how to conduct research through hands-on experience as underclassmen and before they begin formal thesis research, Hodge explained.
“Humanities research can be more nebulous,” she added. “Students aren’t joining an existing lab, so there’s more pressure to develop their own topic and research questions. They may have written research papers, but many haven’t done archival work, field research or collected oral histories. This program is designed specifically to give humanities students that experience early on, so when it comes time to begin work on their honors thesis, they know how to approach their research.”
STEM students often have access to funded programs like Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), so the team knew this program should also provide financial support.
Kadyn Loring (left) and Presley Russell (right) spent the summer researching integration in the Fayetteville Public School System.
“Especially in the summer, many students work to support themselves, so asking them to step away from paid employment for an academic experience can be a big ask,” Hancox said. “The stipend makes it economically feasible. We’re trying to carve out space for students to do this kind of work and ensure that all students have access to these opportunities.”
Back in the cemetery, even the trees, students learned, carry memory. Standing beneath the leafy canopy, the group listened as Childress pointed to the tree they were gathered under and shared how, in some cases, families planted trees in memory of their loved ones instead of placing a gravestone.
These quiet customs—passed down through families and communities—speak to how people once understood grief, remembrance and place. Part of the group’s task was to uncover and preserve these meanings, to read the landscape as a record of lives and choices.
“Community engagement has been key to this process. It has been an honor to work with such phenomenal community leaders who have given their time and expertise to this experience,” said Siegel. “I know I have learned a lot about the history of this region during our field trips. I’ve also learned a lot from the research conducted by our honors students. Every day one of our incredible students would tell me, ‘look at this cool thing I’ve learned,’ and I’d be learning something new too!”
To prepare for their historical research, students visited the Fayetteville Public Library, Fayetteville City Town Hall, East Mountain Cemetery, Rogers Historical Museum and the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale. They also spent significant time working in Special Collections at the University of Arkansas.
Kadyn Loring, an Honors College Fellow majoring in political science and African American studies, is one student who took advantage of this opportunity. She participated in the program to better grasp humanities research, prepare thoroughly for her honors thesis and strengthen her connection to the Honors College.
“It’s almost symbolic to the point it doesn’t seem real,” Loring said, referencing the telling placement of East Mountain Cemetery, which sits adjacent to the Fayetteville Confederate Cemetery. “They are right across the street from one another, and the Confederate Cemetery overlooks the Black neighborhood.”
The physical proximity of these cemeteries serves as a striking visual metaphor for the intertwined histories of the community. This connection was at the heart of discussions during a series of presentations led by community scholars and stakeholders, who explored topics ranging from genealogy and regional Black history to storytelling, folk art and historic preservation.
“It was an honor to learn from our community members who are actively working to preserve local history,” Willette said.
The students then paired off to pursue their own historical inquiries, working to build a mock exhibition. The field school concluded with presentations of their research to community members, fellow students and university leadership.
Jasmine Huerta, a Sturgis Fellow majoring in history and public health, and Katie Lewis, an honors history major, crafted a visual timeline of Saint James United Methodist Church, tracing its deep roots and highlighting its enduring role as a center for public service—from providing food and medical care to serving as a community anchor—since 1860.
Loring and Presley Russell, an honors political science and international and global studies major, set out to better understand integration in Fayetteville Public Schools and uncover the history of its first Black educators, providing a local perspective distinct from the well-known experience in Little Rock. In the process, they discovered that Childress was the district’s first Black head coach. He led the M.O. Ramay Junior High basketball team and supported the track program for eight years.
“Desegregation in Fayetteville was said to be a smooth process and not as tumultuous as Little Rock,” Loring said. “And while that is true, there are still struggles that I think have been overlooked. We also felt that teachers were often left out of the conversation around integration, so we wanted to learn who the Black educators were that broke the color barrier.”
In their archival research, Loring and Russell identified Thelma and Romey Thomason as two of the first Black educators in Fayetteville Public Schools. They hope to continue their research and eventually ensure the Thomasons are publicly recognized.
“Before this program, I probably would have gone straight to Google,” Loring said. “But archives can give you a better idea of how topics evolved throughout history.”
Olivia Smith, a Sturgis Fellow majoring in history and environmental science, and Jane Tucker, an Honors College Fellow majoring in English creative writing, showcased the work of Black artists in Washington County, from the poetic voice of George Pool Ballard to the groundbreaking career of the country music duo Sarge and Shirley West. They also featured Cory Perry, a contemporary multimedia artist who taught in the Humanities Research Scholars Program. Perry participated in the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and shared insights into south Fayetteville and the art and meaning of quilting, a craft passed down from their grandmother.
Phoebe White, an honors English major, and Isabella Sharp, an honors English creative writing and music major, opened a page from Black Americans for Democracy (BAD) Times, a student-run newspaper at the U of A during the late ’60s and early ’70s. Founded to raise Black awareness and challenge exclusion on campus, the publication provided a vivid glimpse into student activism. The scholars examined its coverage of the Miss BAD beauty pageant, revealing its cultural significance and lasting impact on the community.
Jill Stone, an honors English creative writing major, and Sunday McPhail, an honors history major, encountered a composite photograph frequently featured alongside Fayetteville history recaps but lacking identification or context. The team focused on one figure, Willis Pettigrew, and began documenting his legacy through oral history with one of his descendants.
“You can’t put history behind you,” Stone said during her presentation, stressing how understanding the past is essential because everything is interconnected—each chapter shaping the next. “We keep building on more and more.”