The Arkansas Black Hall of Fame will celebrate its 2025 class of inductees during the 31st Annual Induction Ceremony and Show at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Robinson Center Performance Hall in Little Rock.
Six people will be recognized for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the state, the nation and the world. Several inductees have ties to Pine Bluff and southeast Arkansas, according to a news release:
Dr. Cleon Aurelius Flowers Sr. (posthumous) from Stamps — Pine Bluff physician, mentor, and civic and social leader.
Retired Judge Marion A. Humphrey Sr. from Pine Bluff — Jurist, pastor, and civic and social leader.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Charlie Nelms, Ed.D., from Crawfordsville — higher education leader, author and philanthropist; graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Latriece Watkins from McGehee — chief merchandising officer, Walmart U.S.
Garbo and Archie Hearne III M.D. from El Dorado and Little Rock — art curators and entrepreneurs.
Linda Pondexter Chesterfield from Hope — former state senator and educator.
FLOWERS
The late Dr. Cleon Aurelius Flowers Sr. was born in 1913 in Stamps and was a Pine Bluff physician for many years.
He became a medical pioneer who was recognized nationally for his accomplishments.
“Perhaps his most recognized career achievement occurred in 1954 when he delivered the first Siamese twins not born in a hospital, which was such a phenomenon that it gained local, state, and national acclaim and was covered during the time in an edition of the iconic Jet Magazine,” according to the release.
Flowers was a practicing physician who opened his first private practice in 1945 in the historic Mosaic Templar Building in Little Rock.
In 1946, he purchased the building that was United Links Hospital in Little Rock, a medical facility devoted solely to the care of African American patients.
Flowers operated that facility until 1950 when he became one of the first two Black doctors hired onto the staff of Pine Bluff’s Davis Hospital, the predessor to Jefferson Regional Medical Center. The United Links building became the Flowers Professional Building and remained open for many years.
He was a member of notable organizations, including the National Medical Association; Arkansas Medical, Dental and Pharmaceutical Association; Southeast Arkansas Dental and Pharmaceutical Association; and the NAACP, among others.
His brother, well-known lawyer William Harold Flowers, was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 2004.
HUMPHREY
Retired Judge Marion A. Humphrey Sr., a Pine Bluff native whose own maternal grandfather was born into slavery in 1861, has served as the pastor of Allison Memorial Presbyterian Church in Little Rock for 41 years and is a retired circuit court judge for Pulaski and Perry counties.
Humphrey was elected to the 6th Division Circuit Judge in 1992 and served from Jan. 1, 1993, until Dec. 31. He had been elected as a Little Rock municipal judge in 1988 and served from 1989 to 1992.
Prior to having served as municipal judge, Humphrey had been in private practice in Little Rock and Pine Bluff. He also served as a Little Rock assistant city attorney, an Arkansas assistant attorney general, the Arkansas state director for prison fellowship, and director of prison services of Prison Fellowship, Falls Church, Va.
He served as a research assistant in the office of former Rep. Shirley Chisholm, N.Y., and as an intern in the office of former Sen. J. William Fulbright, Ark.
Humphrey is a member of the Arkansas Judicial Council, the Arkansas Bar Association, the Pulaski County Bar Association and the W. Harold Flowers Law Society, and is a life member of the National Bar Association and the NAACP. He formerly served on boards of several organizations, including Arkansas Children’s Hospital; the Vera Lloyd Presbyterian Home; Lyon College; and Johnson C. Smith Seminary and the Interdenominational Theological Center.
NELMS
Charlie Nelms, Ed.D. is a nationally recognized leader in higher education and a social justice activist. He was born and reared in Crawfordsville, in the Arkansas Delta region. Nelms graduated in 1969 from Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College (now UAPB) with a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy, followed by earning his master’s and doctorate degrees from Indiana University. His nearly 50-year affiliation with IU is highlighted by having been the first African American appointed as chancellor of Indiana University East and vice president of the university system.
Nelms has also served as chancellor at the University of Michigan-Flint and North Carolina Central University. He has received numerous national accolades and honors to include medals, fellowships, honorary degrees and even the MLK Drum Major for Service Award presented by former President Barrack Obama in 2012 for helping to address the most pressing needs in our nation. Nelms spent five years as a blogger and is a highly coveted guest speaker, panelist and commentator at various events, on radio programs and in podcasts.
WATKINS
Latriece Watkins, from McGehee, is the executive vice president and chief merchandising officer and among the top five executives for Walmart.
She joined the company part time in 1997 as an intern in real estate, where she became a senior director and learned about property rights.
During her rise with the retailer, Watkins served in a variety of key leadership roles within Sam’s Club and Walmart merchandising, human resources and U.S. store operations.
“In her more than two decades with Walmart and because she has worked in so many different facets of the business, she brings a full-circle approach to her leadership, all while keeping their customers’ needs front and center,” according to the release.
BLACK HALL OF FAME
Presenting sponsors of the Black Hall of Fame 2025 induction ceremony are Linda and Rush Harding.
Proceeds from ticket sales support the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation’s annual grants program. In 2025, the foundation awarded $55,000 to 20 nonprofit organizations statewide. Since 2010, ABHOF has distributed more than $1 million in grants and other investments, positively affecting communities in 71 of Arkansas’ 75 counties.
Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com and arblackhalloffame.org.
