The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage

Freedom of Information Act requests regarding the records of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center should be addressed to:

Organization and Operations

In 1992, a group of concerned citizens fought to have the Mosaic Templars of America Headquarters Building in Little Rock, Arkansas, saved from the wrecking ball and restored to its former glory. This group formed the Mosaic Templars Building Preservation Society with the “purpose of securing and rehabilitating” the structure, which was placed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1990. Once considered the gateway to Little Rock’s black business district on West Ninth Street, the Headquarters Building was originally one of three structures constructed on the corner of West Ninth and Broadway Streets in downtown Little Rock by the Mosaic Templars of America organization. In 1993, after much pressure from the Mosaic Templars Building Preservation Society, the City of Little Rock purchased the Building in order to save this historic structure. In 2001, the Mosaic Templars Building Preservation Society, with the help of the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus, fulfilled its mission by successfully convincing the Arkansas General Assembly to support the rehabilitation of the Headquarters Building and create the Mosaic Templars of America Center for African American Culture and Business Enterprise, the fourth museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

In 2002, Ken Hubbell and Associates, a Little Rock-based consulting firm, developed a Master Plan for the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. The Master Plan states that “the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center acknowledges and honors the achievements and contributions of black Arkansans to promote racial understanding and create opportunities for an equitable and prosperous future.” The plan called for a phased development of the project: 1) Rehabilitation of the 1st and 2nd floors of the historic Mosaic Templars of America Headquarters Building, development of initial exhibits and museum services, and securing land for future parking; 2) restoration of the top floor auditorium for multi-purpose event space and develop additional parking; and 3) construction of an Annex recreating the historic façade for expanded exhibit spaces and parking. In 2003, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, with assistance from Ken Hubbell and Associates, received a Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation grant for $100,000 to conduct a Community History Project, which included the collection of oral history interviews from members of Little Rock’s community, the majority of whom are black citizens. Hundreds of images were gathered for use in MTCC exhibits and educational programs. A group of 16 local scholars and community members served as advisors on the Community History Project and provided input to help identify who needed to be interviewed and which stories should to be highlighted. The product of this grant is an educational CD-Rom entitled “Voices: A Century of Little Rock’s African American Community,” which is currently being distributed to Arkansas teachers and students.

In January 2005, the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center held a groundbreaking ceremony on the 1st floor of the Headquarters Building. Rehabilitation of the Headquarters Building began the following month. A catastrophic fire on March 16, 2005 destroyed the historic structure. The once majestic brick structure was leveled and many feared that the decade long struggle to save the building and have a museum of African American history in Arkansas was over. But the Department of Arkansas Heritage immediately committed to move forward with the project and build a new structure on the historic site. Construction on the new facility began November 2005 and is scheduled to be completed by late 2007. The new museum will open in 2008.

The Center is the first attempt by Arkansas’s State Government to share the history of Arkansas’s African American community with a broad audience. By focusing on the successes within the African American community in business, politics, and the arts, this project will serve as a mechanism for sharing the history and culture of Arkansas’s African Americans and inspiring future generations. The new facility will feature approximately 6500 square feet of permanent and changing exhibit space. Through a set of interrelated exhibits, the Center will interpret its mission – the business, political, social and cultural life of African Americans in Arkansas.