Lavenski R Smith was born and raised in Hope, Arkansas Born October 31, 1958; he is the son of Cayce B (deceased) and Olee M Smith After graduating from Hope High School in 1977, he enrolled in the University of Arkansas where he received a bachelors degree in 1981 He obtained his law degree from the University of Arkansas Law School in 1987

After law school, Smith went to work as a staff attorney for Ozark Legal Services, where he specialized in consumer defense and representation of juveniles as a guardian. In 1991, he opened a private practice in Springdale, Ark The Smith Law Office was ...(more)

J. Donald Rice is president and chief executive officer of Rice Financial Products Company in New York. The founder of the only minority-owned derivatives firm in the nation traces his roots back to the Natural State " to the age of four, precisely " when his father, Rev. J. Donald Rice, Sr. moved his family to Hot Springs to start the Roanoke Baptist Church. Though not born in Arkansas, Rice considers himself a Hot Springs native.

Rice and his older sister, Donneilda, were the first African-American students to integrate Eastside Elementary School in Hot Springs. From there, Rice went on t...(more)

Gladys McFadden and the Loving Sisters first started singing around the home fires in Arkansas when they were very young. The original members of the group "Gladys, Leona, Lorraine, Josephine and Anna " are the daughters of the Rev and Mrs. Aaron Williams. The girls gained experience singing in the Reverend's church and choir under the direction of their mother.

Gladys organized The Loving Sisters when she was only nine, and by the time she was twelve, she was composing songs for the group The group faced a setback in 1951 when the death of their eldest sister, Leona, it would be a while be...(more)

Deborah Mathis' Arkansas roots run deep. Before becoming a nationally known author, syndicated columnist, respected television commentator and professor of journalism, she was simply a girl growing up in Little Rock, the daughter of the Rev. Lloyd Myers (now deceased) and Mrs. Rachel A. Myers Jones.

Mathis was born in Little Rock on August 24, 1953. Her journalistic pursuits began as early as junior high school when she became the first black editor of West Side Junior High's school newspaper. In 1970 she became the first black and first female editor of Central High School's Tiger student ...(more)

Lawrence Hamilton, the son of the late Dr. Oscar and Mrs. Mae Dell Hamilton, was born in the small southwest Arkansas town of Foreman With an interest in music stemming from childhood, Hamilton earned a music scholarship to attend Henderson State University in Arkadelphia where he studied piano and voice He graduated in 1976 with a bachelor s degree in music education.

From Arkansas, Hamilton traveled to Florida to work as a performer at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida where he would meet talent manager, Tommy Molinaro. This fateful meeting would prove to be a life-changing encounter,...(more)