Gov. Rockefeller and Race

Winthrop Rockefeller was elected governor of Arkansas in 1966. His election victory was aided by the work of national civil rights organizations in the state including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, as well as local organizations such as the Council on Community Affairs. Many of these efforts were in concert with the Arkansas Voter Project, the state arm of the regionwide Voter Education Project run by the Southern Regional Council in Atlanta under the directorship of Arkansan Wiley Branton. Rockefeller’s election and re-election as governor in 1968, when he polled 88% of the state’s black vote, marked an important sea-change in Arkansas politics and race relations.