Totten to Present on 'Justice Jim' and Massive Resistance in Arkansas Dec. 5

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Marie Totten

The University Libraries' and Graduate School and International Education's Graduate Student Speaker Series wraps up this semester with Marie Totten, a doctoral candidate and graduate assistant in the Department of History.

Totten will present "Political Outcast: 'Justice Jim' Johnson and Massive Resistance in Arkansas" at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, in Mullins Library room 130. This event is free and open to the public. 

"In all of his state elections, Justice Jim was seen as the underdog, a radical who couldn't possibly win, but among Southerners, Johnson was an all-star," Totten said. "Groomed by successful segregationists, Johnson should have ousted the moderate Faubus in 1956, but Johnson never fit in to Arkansas politics. He was always the outcast, the forever candidate who Arkansas voters rejected, even when they embraced his racist, segregationist ideas. My work seeks to bring Justice Jim to the forefront of 20th century Arkansas politics, because you need to understand the villains in order to fully appreciate the heroes."

In her research, Totten used the Orval Eugene Faubus Papers, the Roy Reed Papers, the James David Bales Papers and the J. William Fulbright Papers. The public is welcome to view and use these materials any time Special Collections is open. 

The Graduate Student Speaker Series debuted in fall 2018 as a platform for students to share the research they have conducted using Special Collections materials. Graduate students from all majors who are interested in presenting on the research they have done using Special Collections materials are encouraged to visit the speaker series webpage or email specoll@uark.edu.