Arkansas Negro Business Men’s League

Prominent African American business and professional leaders created the Arkansas Negro Business Men’s League at a meeting in Little Rock (Pulaski County) on December 31, 1902–January 1, 1903. The state organization grew out of the National Negro Business League created in 1900 and headed by Booker T. Washington, principal of Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute and one of the most prominent spokesmen for Black communities at the time. Washington established the league as a reaction to worsening race relations in the late nineteenth century, believing that Black communities could gain political and social acceptance by focusing on economic development and feeling that direct political confrontation would not help. These principles served as the foundation for the national league. The Arkansas league embraced Washington’s ideas for the most part, and Washington encouraged the Arkansas organization, visiting Little Rock, Pine Bluff (Jefferson County), and Hot Springs (Garland County) in 1905 and 1911 at the state league’s invitation.

Several key figures who helped start the league in Arkansas attended the 1900 national meeting and later created local leagues in their own communities that predated the state league. The Reverend Elias C. Morris, pastor of Centennial Baptist Church in Helena (Phillips County) and president of the National Baptist Convention, returned to form the Helena league. Mifflin Gibbs, Little Rock attorney and former U.S. minister to Madagascar, and George E. Jones, Little Rock grocer, real estate dealer, and funeral home owner, were instrumental in the formation of the Little Rock league. By 1902, additional leagues existed in Hot Springs, Pine Bluff, and Texarkana (Miller County).

The Little Rock league called for a convention in the capital city on December 31, 1902, to establish the state league. At that meeting, delegates elected Rev. James Mayer Conner as president. At the time, Conner, who was pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, headed the Little Rock league. He continued to serve as president of the local and state organization until 1911, at which point he departed Little Rock following his appointment as a bishop in his church. Conner was largely seen as the face of the league through that period.

The state league held annual and sometimes semi-annual conventions from its inception until 1911. Those who attended reflected the broad appeal of the organization. While emphasizing economic development and consisting of many individuals from among the Black entrepreneurial classes, the league also included ministers, professionals, and educators who also had a stake in the economic development of their communities. While most members were men, women who engaged in business also participated in the conventions, such as Mrs. L. A. Henderson, a hat maker, and Mrs. Hattie Charles, a dressmaker, both of Rison (Cleveland County).

At the conventions, members made presentations on a variety of subjects. Individual businessmen discussed their successes and the barriers they faced to success. Additional presentations discussed wider issues, including the types of businesses important for the Black community, as well as the importance of capital formation and education in achieving success. Conversations held at the conventions may have resulted in the founding of several significant companies. Mifflin Gibbs and John E. Bush, for example, founded the Capital City Savings Bank, which had as one of its goals providing capital for men and women to buy homes or to start their own businesses. In Rison, league members formed the Cleveland County Mercantile Company that provided an alternative source of supplies for local farmers.

While largely remaining true to Washington’s policy of non-confrontation, at times the league directly resisted deteriorating race conditions. In 1901 and 1903, the league opposed efforts to create segregated street cars in Little Rock, although failing in that goal in 1903. In 1901 and 1903, members of the league pressured white legislators to prevent the segregation of the state school fund. In 1902, the Little Rock league successfully prevented the city school board from abolishing traditional grades and substituting manual training in the segregated Little Rock schools. The Little Rock league also actively opposed the hiring out of county prisoners to private companies as laborers.

The state league disbanded after 1911, and the Little Rock organization ceased to exist as well. The reasons for this are not known. Local leagues, however, continued to exist in Camden (Ouachita County), Conway (Faulkner County), Hot Springs, Morrilton (Conway County), Osceola (Mississippi County), Pine Bluff, and Texarkana at least into the 1940s. At times, these continued to embrace Washington’s ideas about the development of community resources and worked for that end. In other cases, these local organizations shifted to demanding civil rights. In both instances, these leagues continued the work for racial advancement.

For additional information:
Gordon, Fon Louise. Caste and Class: The Black Experience in Arkansas, 1880–1920. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1995.

Graves, John William. Town and Country: Race Relations in an Urban-Rural Context, Arkansas, 1865–1905. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1990.

Harlan, Louis. “Booker T. Washington and the National Business League.” In Booker T. Washington in Perspective: Essays of Louis R. Harlan, edited by Raymond W. Smock. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1988.

Moneyhon, Carl H. “The Arkansas Negro Business Men’s League: Pursuing Black Prosperity in an Era of Disfranchisement and Segregation.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 82 (Autumn/Winter 2023): 111–140.