May 9, 1955

Pickens W. Black Sr. died in Newport (Jackson County) after several months of illness. Born in Alabama, Black moved to Arkansas as a teenager and became one of the most remarkable African-American agriculturalists in northeast Arkansas in the post–Civil War years. Although little has been written about his life, he is rightly entitled to appear in the annals of Arkansas history as an entrepreneur, community developer, philanthropist, and advocate for the education of black children in Jackson County. His land holdings at the time of his death included nearly 9,000 acres in and around Blackville. He is buried at Odd Fellows Cemetery in Auvergne (Jackson County).