The Folding Chair The Folding Chair

Do we really have to explain why Black History matters? This year the state government and the Arkansas Department of Education has declared war on African American History/Black Studies. On this special episode of The Folding Chair podcast, Osyrus Bolly gives listeners the latest news about the AP African American History course being taught in a few high schools in our state, why the it's under attack in the state of Arkansas and our next steps as education advocates.

Representative Vivian Flowers (D)Rep. Vivian Flowers is serving her fifth term in the Arkansas House. She represents District 65 which includes a portion of Jefferson County and Arkansas County.For the 94th General Assembly, Rep. Flowers serves on the House Education Committee and the House Insurance and Commerce Committee. Rep. Flowers also serves on the Joint Budget Committee.Rep. Flowers earned a degree in Political Science and Professional and Technical Writing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She went on to earn a Master’s Degree from the Clinton School of Public Service.She currently resides in Pine Bluff

Katina Booth White is a proud native of Little Rock, AR. Her love and enthusiasm for STEM and youth inspired

her to obtain a degree in Middle Childhood Education, with an emphasis in math and science. Katina

began her career in education as an Integrated Science, Project Lead the Way, and Robotics Instructor.

In this role she successfully led multiple teams to regional and nationals awards in both VEX and BEST

robotics.

Katina was awarded 2018 Sherwood Teacher of the Year and 2020 Forest Heights STEM Academy

Teacher of the Year. Additionally, she was invited to be a keynote speaker for the 2018 March for

Science. She was selected as one of twenty five educators across the nation as a 2021 Ford Unsung Hero



Award Recipient. Currently, Katina serves as Vice President for the National Technical Association-

Arkansas Chapter and Media Director of National Association for Geoscience Teacher Education Division



and on the DEI Committee for the National Association for Geoscience Teachers.



In 2021, Katina merged her passion for equity/inclusion and STEM by accepting an offer from UAMS

Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. UAMS is largest academic health center in the state of

Arkansas. She is the inaugural Curriculum Coordinator for the UAMS Pathways Academy. In this role,

Katina spearheads curriculum design crafted to pique the interest of youth in an effort to one day shift the

status quo of today’s health care workforce. She's created several award-winning, nationally recognized,

culturally-relevant STEM programs and opportunities for grades K-undergraduate. Using multiple

pedagogies, she co-creates intentional curricula tailored to impact and enrich historically excluded youth

(minority, rural, low socio-economic, etc.) in underserved areas.

In 2022, she co-authored and published 2 books: STEM Looks Like Me and Dear Sis, I love you.. Anthology

of Black Sisterhood. Katina is the mother of a beautiful, bright, and creative young girl named Jai. She

considers motherhood her favorite way to serve. She continually aims to provide an environment that

affords her daughter the gift of positive self-efficacy, self-esteem and passion to learn.

It's this grounding that fuels Katina's passion to impact her community and students for the better. She

truly believes that everyone possesses a gift and a light that must be shared with the world for us all to

reach our greatest heights as a society. Her goal is to make sure that all children be given the tools and

provided the opportunity to let their light shine and become unapologetic about who they were created to

be “A Manifestation of Greatness!”

Adaja Cooper is a national award-winning, published artist from Little Rock, Arkansas. Born in Magnolia, Arkansas, Cooper has always expressed a passion for art at a young age. Cooper's art has also been published in the Mahyue Magazine, the Little Rock Soirée Magazine, and Hendrix College’s Aonian Literary Magazine. She created multiple paintings for the Central Arkansas Library System, one which is featured on a billboard in Little Rock, Arkansas. Cooper has been in multiple galleries including the Hearne Fine Art Gallery, Mosaic Templars Cultural Museum, and The Baum Gallery. She was named a finalist for the 2022 Arkansas Times "Best of Arkansas" in the Visual Art category and was featured on the cover of the July issue of the magazine. Cooper is a recent graduate of   Hendrix College and a recipient of the 2023 Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. During her fellowship, she will travel for a year creating public art that empowers different cultures around the world. Follow her on all social media platforms @adajacooper


Support Adaja Cooper by visiting her website
adajacooperstudio.com

ABOUT PHILLIP MOUTON



Trap Jazz is a hybrid of two generations of Black music. A new genre of sound birthed out of the original art forms of contemporary and Jazz standards with a baseline and core of traditional Hip-Hop. Phillip “Philli Moo” Mouton is one of the giants of this genre. Philli Moo is molding his legacy as a premiere saxophonist, in addition to his skills as a singer, producer, and drummer. He is the former student of legendary jazz trumpeter Clark Terry Ron Carter,  the great saxophonist and music aficionado Gerald Johnson, and  his  father, pianist Carl Mouton. An alumni of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), Mouton completed a B.S. in Music. While in school, he was a member of the M4 Marching Band and he is a current member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Hosea Long was born in Cross County, Wynne, Arkansas. 

From early life, he’s entertained dreams that were at odds with others. He became a Star Trek fan from the first airing of the TV show in 1966 and has remained a staunch fan. 

He attended the AM&N College in 1969 and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 1973, one year after AM&N became a part of the University of Arkansas. He later received a master’s degree in Interpersonal and Organizational Communications from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. 

He enjoyed a forty-one-year career in Arkansas government, working in several state agencies, including the governor’s office. Human resources management consumed most of his time in public service, 37 years. He enjoyed the last 23 years of his career serving in the human resources department at the university of Arkansas for Medical Science. The last 15 years there were spent as the associate vice chancellor/chief human resources officer. Retirement came joyfully in January 2013.

Hosea is married to Christene Long. They have three adult children. God has blessed this family with eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Hosea Long has been a member of Saint John Missionary Baptist Church since 1985, serving on the finance committee, budget committee and in several other volunteer capacities. His true calling is Sunday school teacher. He’s led the mixed class (married and single), “Connecting with Christ” for the last 30-plus years.

He enjoys the company of his wife, studying God’s word, blogging, and is an observer of all things spiritual. He now serves as the group leader for the Saint John Chronic Illness Support Group. He leads this group as a sufferer from a chronic illness himself. He was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a form of blood cancer in 2000. He relapsed in 2018 and is currently living with a low level of cancer cells in his body, enjoying a high quality of life. 

Retirement is the best job he’s ever had, and God is truly his BFF.