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Running the DIY Memory Lab is genuinely a great joy and honor in my life. The work that I get to do as a person who assists people digitizing their home movies and family photos is greatly rewarding, especially since a lot of the equipment we provide for the public is inaccessible and/or expensive for the average person.

It’s the time of year when I consciously review, remember, and recognize significant portions of my life that focus on my neighborhood, my family, and the friends I’ve met along the way. I am a sixth-generation Arkansan on my maternal side. The five generations before me are the reason I exist and the reason I have the courage to be who I am.

People often ask me what I’m working on.

It’s one of those questions like, “What do you do?” You know that you’re supposed to answer it with reference to your job, what pays the bills and all that. But maybe, for a moment, before you spill out all the expected information, you let yourself think about it and realize that,

The CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies’ recently processed Abramson family papers showcase the personal and business life of a prominent family from Holly Grove in Monroe County, Arkansas. They owned vast tracts of land in Monroe and Lee Counties, much of which was worked by tenant farmers, and also owned and operated the cotton gin,

People across the country watched the Oscars on Sunday to celebrate all the big movies of last year. In this previous blog post, I took a more local view, writing about finding out that the movie Best Pancakes in the Country was filming here in the Little Rock area. In various interviews,

Researching family history is always a journey. This week, that journey took me to the discovery of a relative I had never heard of. A routine review of databases revealed names that were familiar in my research but included a child I did not know: Leslie Eugene Toombs. His last name was transcribed as “Traubs.” His parents were listed as Willie and Adeaner Toombs.

Organized by the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA), the exhibition Arkansas Women to Watch 2026: Words Become Matter is on view through April 18, 2026, in the Underground Gallery at the CALS Roberts Library (401 President Clinton Ave.). Roberts Library visiting information is at https://robertslibrary.org/visit/location-hours/.

Now in its fourth year, the Black Family Expo was held this year in the recently renovated CALS Main Library, taking over the entire fifth floor. The expo took place over three hours on Saturday, February 7, and we had more than 300 participants throughout the event. Fourteen family and organizational tables were set up to share stories and resources with visitors,

With Lunar New Year beginning today, February 17, I’ve been digging through old boxes and bins at my parents’ house, searching for photos and videos of how my family has celebrated this holiday over the years.

Lunar New Year is one of the most significant celebrations in Chinese culture. It is a holiday dedicated to honoring the people who came before us—our ancestors and past loved ones—as well as a time to celebrate the fresh start and fortune of a new year in the lunisolar calendar.

In the year 2026, it is common to see people using personal phones with features that combine technology from the last one hundred years into a small hand-held device. These cellphones, smart watches, or hands-free technology allow you to talk to others, take pictures, do research, or navigate to locations you have never visited.