Dear Friends, Today is Juneteenth, a day to commemorate June 19th, 1865, when federal orders were read in Galveston, Texas proclaiming that all slaves were now free.  Although the Emancipation Proclamation formally freed all slaves over two years earlier, Juneteenth marks the day when the last slaves in the United States were actually given their freedom.  Although COVID-19 made it necessary to cancel celebrations across our state this year, I am remembering years past when I celebrated at the Bigelow Rosenwald Community Center.  Congressman Hill with Mrs. Keith, a respected teacher in Bigelow, Arkansas in June, 2017. It is fitting that, this week, after five years of partnership and collaboration, our efforts to preserve and amplify the reach of the Bigelow Rosenwald School have borne fruit. The Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, part of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, has announced that it will fully the Bigelow Rosenwald School project. This significant grant of $634,594 will ensure that this school that, reflecting its tradition of serving Arkansas’s African American community for the past century by serving as a central meeting place for community and ideas, will endure. I have supported the Bigelow Rosenwald School project at the University of Central Arkansas since 2015, when the community of Bigelow and State Senator Jason Rapert alerted me that the historic school that has served the African American community for nearly a century was in dire need of repairs. I promptly met with community leaders to brainstorm solutions for the school. Constructed in 1926, the Bigelow Rosenwald School was part of a national building program supported by the Julius Rosenwald Fund and established to improve African American access to education across the South. This school is one of 389 schools and associated buildings constructed in Arkansas through assistance from this Fund. Of these 389, the Bigelow Rosenwald School is one of only 18 of those original buildings that remain today. Preserve Arkansas included the school in its 2012 list of “Arkansas’s Most Endangered Historic Places,” which led to the organization’s classification of its restoration as a priority. To learn more about Julius Rosenwald and his exceptional efforts to promote educational opportunities for African Americans in the South, see Aviva Kempner's film, "Rosenwald".  Although older Arkansans knew about the school’s importance, many younger Arkansans were not aware of its history. Because of this, I worked with UCA to host a documentary screening in 2016 to raise awareness about the Bigelow Rosenwald School. This screening led UCA to get involved in saving the school, with UCA starting work on grant proposals for saving and restoring the school to its former glory. When the school applied for a grant through the Division of Arkansas Heritage in 2019, I was proud to provide a letter of support to supplement their grant application packet. I am proud to have played a role in this effort, and I look forward to supporting UCA’s collaborative partnership with the Rosenwald Community Cultural Center to restore the building. As we move forward, we should protect our nation's African American culture and heritage. Celebrating Juneteenth and preserving historic landmarks such as the Bigelow Rosenwald School are positive steps towards a more unified country.

The JUSTICE Act focuses on:

Improving Law Enforcement Transparency through additional reporting

• Annual Reporting on Use of Force
• Reporting on No-Knock Warrants

Ensuring Law Enforcement Agencies and Officers are Accountable

• Developing Accessible Disciplinary Records Systems
• Ensuring Transparent Policing
• Closing the Law Enforcement Consent Loophole

Improving Training for Officers to Perform their Duty

• Banning the Use of Chokeholds
• Duty to Intervene
• De-Escalation Training
• Community Policing

Addressing Historical Racism and Racial Inequities 

• Justice for Victims of Lynching
• Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act

Congressman Hill met with Dr. Lisa Evans and her team at the Pulaski County Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) in August 2019.

• Withdrawal from friends or usual activities
• Changes in behavior — such as aggression, anger, hostility or hyperactivity — or changes in school performance
• Depression, anxiety or unusual fears, or a sudden loss of self-confidence
• An apparent lack of supervision
• Frequent absences from school
• Reluctance to leave school activities, as if he or she doesn't want to go home
• Attempts at running away
• Rebellious or defiant behavior
  
• Self-harm or attempts at suicide

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, has posted a revised, borrower-friendly Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness application. In addition to revising the full forgiveness application, the SBA also published a new EZ version of the forgiveness application that applies to borrowers that:

• Are self-employed and have no employees; OR

• Did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%, and did not reduce the number or hours of their employees; OR

• Experienced reductions in business activity as a result of health directives related to COVID-19 and did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%.

To access the EZ application, click HERE. To access the full forgiveness application, click HERE.