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1957 Arkansas General Assembly

Starting in 1957, three successive Arkansas General Assemblies passed a series of pro-segregation measures. In 1957, Act 83 created a State Sovereignty Commission to harass civil rights groups. Future Republican governor Winthrop Rockefeller labeled it an “Arkansas gestapo.” Act 85 ordered all groups that received donations in the state to report them to the Sovereignty Commission, specifically targeting the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Act 84 made attendance at an integrated school non-compulsory. Act 86 allowed school districts to hire outside legal counsel to protect school board and school administration members who defended segregation. The state fought to uphold these laws at great expense to taxpayers although the courts eventually ruled them all unconstitutional.