Join Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts for a conversation with Angela Wilburn from 1-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 19. Wilburn and web series host Lauren Willette will discuss Wilburn’s involvement in important historic preservation work happening in Forrest City and the surrounding St. Francis County. This webinar is free and open to the public, and registration is required.
Wilburn serves as director of the St. Francis County CARE Center in her hometown of Forrest City, Ark. Her love of local history and preservation inspired Wilburn and her husband, Freddie, to create MaxMo’s Properties, LLC, through which they purchase and restore properties with historical significance. Wilburn is the founder of Forrest City’s Juneteenth CommUnity & Heritage Festival and chairperson for St. Francis County’s history book, which will be published later this year. Some of the boards she’s served on include Arkansas Preserve, Forrest City Downtown Revitalization and the St. Francis County Historical Society.
Wilburn is currently working with local historians to restore a forgotten historical African American cemetery in Forrest City. These efforts lead to the Forrest City Colored Cemetery being put on the historical registry. Some of Arkansas’ most prominent African Americans are buried in the cemetery, including Josiah Homer Blount, the State’s first Black gubernatorial candidate. Markers date back to the early 19th century.
Willette met Wilburn more than 10 years ago while working with the Ozark Foothills Literacy Project in Batesville.
“I am excited to feature Angela as part of this series because her involvement in many aspects of the community in St. Francis County offers a wonderful model of what community activism and historic preservation look like in contemporary Arkansas,” said Willette. “Angela is an example of how much someone can accomplish by getting out there and getting involved in meaningful community work.”
All sessions of the Arkansas Folklife Web Series are free and open to the public. Upcoming events in this series:
- September 20 – Janis Kearney, Celebrate! Maya Project – Community Activism
- October 18 – Eric Maynard, Arkansas Game and Fish – Hunting and Fishing Traditions
- November 18 – Kat Robinson, Arkansas Author – Arkansas Food Traditions
Questions about the 2023 Arkansas Folklife Web Series may be directed to Willette at willette@uark.edu. Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts is a statewide program of the University of Arkansas Libraries dedicated to building cross-cultural understanding by documenting, presenting and sustaining Arkansas’ living traditional arts and cultural heritage.