Sorry for this late posting on the opening of the Mosaic Templars Museum this morning — been out and about. I’d guess 350 people showed up for the ribbon cutting of this museum of black Arkansas history, 20 years in the making. Ellen Carpenter, 92, charter member of the preservation board founded to save the building and make it into a museum, told the crowd the original building — built by the African-American fraternity and insurance company — and Dreamland down the street were where the black community congregated. “We went to church, too, but you couldn’t do at church what you did here,” she said. (Dreamland was the famed music hall where so many greats of the early 20th century played.) Carpenter, repeating, “We made it, we made it,” cut the ribbon and the huge crowd, which included a Templars group from Barbados decked in ribbons, filed in.

Brian Chilson captured crowd, the ribbon cutting and the scene below from the interior, visitors looking at a headstone engraved with the Templars insignia.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Help to Keep Great Journalism Alive in Arkansas

Join the fight for truth and become a subscriber of the Arkansas Times. We've been battling powerful forces for 50 years through our tough, determined, and feisty journalism. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, our readers value great journalism. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing and supporting our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage. Together, we can continue to hold the powerful accountable and bring important stories to light. Subscribe now or donate for as little as $1 and be a part of the Arkansas Times community.

Previous article Foo, pig Next article Fresh start …