LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Nov. 2, 2015) – From the L.C. and Daisy Bates House to the Trail of Tears, a new app being unveiled Monday, Nov. 2, by the City of Little Rock and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock allows the many places and stories of the City’s Civil Rights history to come to life an interactive tour.

A history lesson contained in a mobile device, the GPS-enabled Arkansas Civil Rights History Tour app takes users on an in-depth journey to 35 locations that have played significant roles in the diverse history of Arkansas’s capital city from the 1840s to present day. Each stop on the app provides a narrative rich in detail, with historic photos, audio, and links to more content serving to enhance the story.

Many of the stops are familiar landmarks, such as the ones about Central High School the Little Rock Nine. Other sites feature lesser-known yet equally compelling stories of people who left their mark on local history as well as the several businesses, churches, entertainment venues, and neighborhoods that served as beacons of hope to many populations during periods of change and sometimes strife.

Included in the list of sites are three National Historic Landmarks, three National Register Historic Districts, and many buildings listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places.

“Little Rock’s place in Civil Rights history is already known throughout the world,” said Mayor Mark Stodola. “What this app does so well is provide the narratives and context behind those headlines so that we can begin to connect places and events through this very creative form of storytelling.”

Narrated in both English and Spanish, the app offers additional information about Jewish history in Little Rock, the Hispanic migration to Arkansas, and Native American tribes in the area.

Markers for the tour stops can be found on the sidewalks at each of the locations. A recommended route begins at Broadway and West Ninth Street, but the self-guided nature of the app allows for people to select their start and customize their own path down history.

The app, funded by a generous grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council, was a collaboration among UALR’s Institute on Race and Ethnicity, the City of Little Rock, the Mayor’s Tourism Commission, and KUAR, UALR’s public radio station.

"The Institute's mission is to remember and understand the past, to inform and engage the present, and to shape and define the future in the area of race and ethnicity,” said Dr. John Kirk, director of the Institute on Race and Ethnicity, “The tour app helps us to do all those things: it powerfully sheds light on the past, it allows people to engage with the past in the present moment, and it helps us to consider how those legacies and lessons can shape and define the future of the city and state."

The app is available for free now in the Apple App store and the Google Play store. It can be found by using the search terms “Arkansas history.”

Apple App store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/arkansas-civil-rights-history/id1043196458?mt=8

Google Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tb.tb461&hl=en

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