Arkansas Armenian Genocide Recognition

Arkansas legislators have recognized the Armenian Genocide on the state level. Gubernatorial proclamations as well as state and local legislation are provided below since 2001. If you know of other documents to be added to this list – old or new – please send a note to elizabeth@anca.org. We look forward to showcasing them.

Arkansas citizens also played an active role in assisting Armenian Genocide survivors through the Congressionally mandated Near East Foundation, during the years 1915 – 1930. Learn more about their efforts below, through research prepared by the ANCA Western Region’s “America We Thank You” program.

And finally, review our snapshot of news coverage of the Armenian Genocide in Arkansas press, as we spotlight three articles, prepared as part of the ANCA’s “Genocide Diary” project. Check back to the Genocide Diary’s Arkansas page for new articles added on a monthly basis.

2001

PROCLAMATION BY THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
STATE OF ARKANSAS
MARCH 27, 2001

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME — GREETINGS:

WHEREAS, the death of at least 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks and the forced deportation of countless others, is remembered on April 24th as Armenian Martyrs Day; and

WHEREAS, eighty-six years ago, Armenians were forced to witness the slaughter of their relatives and the loss of their ancestral homeland; and

WHEREAS, the denial of the Armenian genocide by the present-day Turkish Government continues to antagonize the Armenian people concerning their own rightful place in history; and

WHEREAS, the Armenian people have not received reparations for their losses; and

WHEREAS, Armenians have valiantly pursued the improvement and self-determination of their homelands; and

WHEREAS, notwithstanding such atrocities in the past people of Armenian descent have been strong, productive, contributing citizens in the many communities in which they reside in the State of Arkansas; and

WHEREAS, on April 24, 2001, Armenian families from across Arkansas will gather to honor the 1.5 million Armenians who were massacred under the Ottoman Turkish Government between 1915 and 1923;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mike Huckabee, acting under the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2001, as

A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE in the State of Arkansas.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 27th day of March, in the year of our Lord 2001.

MIKE HUCKABEE, GOVERNOR
SHARON PRIEST, SECRETARY OF STATE

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Arkansas’s Support for Survivors of the Armenian Genocide

Arkansas was an integral supporter of Near East Relief, the American-led campaign that quickly sparked an international response with its unprecedented humanitarian endeavor, mobilizing all segments of American citizenry including elected officials, celebrities and laypersons alike, to help rescue victims of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey from 1915-1930.

Arkansas facilitated its relief efforts from its headquarters at the Arcade Building in Little Rock.

A native of Monticello, Arkansas, Mr. Roy Davis left the comforts of his life in America and traveled overseas to work in the Near East Relief’s orphanage school at the Kazachi Post in Alexandropol, Armenia (present-day Gyumri,
Armenia’s second largest city).

Read the complete fact sheet prepared by America We Thank You.

The Armenian Genocide in Arkansas Press

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