protest

Walton Arts Center board members resign after CEO declines to host drag events aimed at minors

BY: - May 19, 2023

Six members of the Walton Arts Center Board of Directors announced their resignations Friday afternoon in light of the center’s decision not to host drag events for minors during Northwest Arkansas Pride celebrations next month. “After careful consideration, we are compelled by our consciences to make this decision,” board secretary and treasurer Casey Hamaker wrote […]

Valencia White, right, talks about her concerns about Medicaid during an event Friday in Little Rock.

Arkansas Medicaid recipients seek DHS response to feedback, more time to confirm eligibility

BY: - March 24, 2023

Medicaid recipients who are concerned about losing coverage soon did not let Friday’s pouring rain stop them from gathering in front of the Department of Human Services’ headquarters in downtown Little Rock. Three attendees carried umbrellas with the message “Don’t leave us waiting in the rain” painted on them. The small crowd chanted “What do […]

Little Rock Central High School students protesting in their campus courtyard

Little Rock Central High students protest alumna Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ legislative agenda

BY: - March 3, 2023

More than 1,000 Little Rock Central High School students walked out of class Friday afternoon and gathered in front of the school, protesting Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ education agenda and her references to the school while promoting it. Students published an open letter to Sanders on Wednesday, stating that her approach to education policy is […]

“Gutted” Arkansas bill no longer targets drag performers or LGBTQ community, activists say

BY: - February 3, 2023

Arkansas legislators amended a bill that originally would have restricted where drag performances can be held but now does not mention the word “drag” at all. Activists who have opposed Senate Bill 43 since it was introduced in January say the heavily amended language no longer targets LGBTQ Arkansans. The bill was amended Thursday for […]

Anti-drag legislation passes Arkansas Senate in 29-6 party-line vote

BY: - January 24, 2023

A proposed law that would limit where drag performances can occur will head to the Arkansas House of Representatives after passing the Senate on a party-line vote Tuesday. Senate Bill 43  defines a “drag performance” as at least one person “exhibit[ing] a gender identity that is different from the performer’s gender assigned at birth using […]

Drag performer Athena Sinclair, aka M.D. Hunter, speaks against a bill that would define "a drag performance" as an adult-oriented business during a senate committee hearing Thursday morning, Jan. 19, 2023. The bill’s primary sponsor Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch), left, listened to testimony from opponents and supporters of the bill before the committee passed it with a recommendation the full Senate adopt it. (Photo by John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate/01/19/2023)

Anti-drag bill passes Arkansas Senate committee, opponents rally outside Capitol

BY: - January 19, 2023

Dozens — including drag performers and transgender Arkansans — stood on the Arkansas State Capitol steps Thursday afternoon and sang “Seasons of Love” to the assembled crowd, an act of defiance against a proposed law approved by a legislative committee just hours earlier. The performance, organizers said, would be banned under Senate Bill 43, which […]

‘Winter is here’: Chess champion Kasparov warns that Ukraine war is a test for democracies

BY: - October 9, 2022

FULTON, Mo. – The invasion of Ukraine awakened free countries to the threat posed by Russia and Vladimir Putin, but whether they will sustain that resistance to dictators is an open question, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov said Friday during a speech at Westminster College. On the Missouri campus where Winston Churchill warned in […]