Time Period: Divergent Prosperity and the Arc of Reform (1968-2022)

Long Line Rider [Song]

“Long Line Rider” is a 1968 rock song written by Bobby Darin based on the Arkansas prison scandals of that same year. While not a commercial success, the song garnered controversy for its subject matter when CBS executives prevented Darin from playing it on a taping of The Jackie Gleason Show in 1969. The song was also mentioned in congressional testimony concerning prison reform in 1971. In January 1968, Tom Murton, the superintendent of the Cummins Unit in the Arkansas prison system—with the help of an African American inmate informant—dug up several bodies on the prison grounds that he believed had been murder victims. The ensuing scandal became fodder for national and even international headlines, embarrassing Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, who …

Northwest Arkansas Council

The Northwest Arkansas Council is a private, nonprofit organization that works toward the development of the northwestern corner of the state. Its goal is to meet the needs of the community by advancing job opportunities, fostering affordable housing, and enhancing the area’s infrastructure, healthcare, and quality of life. Its influence encompasses Bentonville (Benton County), Fayetteville (Washington County), Rogers (Benton County), Siloam Springs (Benton County), Springdale (Washington and Benton counties), and smaller surrounding towns in Benton and Washington counties as well as adjacent rural areas of Madison County. The Northwest Arkansas Council was established in 1990 by business leaders including J. B. Hunt of J. B. Hunt Transport Services, Don Tyson of Tyson Foods, and Sam Walton of Walmart. The group …

Samuels, Stephen L.

Stephen L. Samuels, a Paragould (Greene County) native, was a lawyer at the United States Department of Justice for thirty-one years, developing a national reputation for expertise in environmental law, particularly the Clean Water Act of 1972. He served as the assistant chief of the Environmental Defense Section and oversaw some of the department’s most complex and contentious cases. In the wake of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that resulted in widespread confusion, he helped develop the Justice Department’s legal strategy for defending the Clean Water Act in nearly eighty lawsuits nationwide in state and federal courts. His work earned him the nickname “Mr. Clean Water Act.” Steven Lee Samuels was born in Paragould on February 2, 1952. He was the …