August 20, 1969

Lance “Sweet Willie Wine” Watson, head of the Memphis, Tennessee-based Black Power group the Invaders, set off on his March Against Fear through the Arkansas Delta. Watson began the trek in West Memphis (Crittenden County) and reached the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock on August 24, 1969. The march was in support of ongoing demonstrations against racial injustice taking place on college campuses across the state and shows how the Black Power movement in Arkansas connected with broader regional developments.