Little Rock 5th Grader Is A National Finalist For Google Art Contest

A fifth grader from Otter Creek Elementary School in Little Rock will soon be headed to New York City, as one of only 50 state winners in the Doodle 4 Google competition. Out of more than 114,000 students who submitted entries this year, 11-year old Kouadio Kondo was selected as a national finalist due to his futuristic artist rendering of the Google logo.

“Well, my dad taught me that if you want to draw it then draw it, you can do whatever you put your mind to and I got the inspiration from my dad,” said Kondo. “I have been to New York before, but I think I was kind of like 2-years old and well I’m not even sure I’m going to win the next round, because there are kids in middle school and high school with art, but I still get the trip that’s the best part.” Full Story.

Be Sure to Watch! Global Voices: Peace Vs. Justice

The recent, unprecedented viral spread of the video KONY 2012 has raised global awareness of the more than 20 years of terror inflicted on Uganda and other African countries by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and its leader Joseph Kony. "Peace Versus Justice" provides background to the conflict and addresses the complicated issues confronting those attempting to end it.

When the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established, it was championed by human-rights crusaders as a long-overdue end to impunity. But what if the victims of heinous crimes don't want the court's version of justice? Through the prism of Uganda's battle with the Lord's Resistance Army, Peace Versus Justice takes a critical look at the problems of applying Western conceptions of justice to other countries and continents. Full story.

Full story.

Arkansas Flyer Celebrates State’s Heritage Through Music, Humor

KUAR FM 89 will celebrate Arkansas Heritage Month with its sixth performance of Arkansas Flyer, the live variety show highlighting the best of Arkansas culture and music, at 6 p.m. Friday, May 4, at Wildwood Park for the Arts.

Hosting the festivities will be Little Rock singer-songwriter Amy Garland. The Salty Dogs, purveyors of original honky-tonk twang, will be the house band, and Velvet Kente, rock-n-roll with an Afro-beat, will be the featured act.

The Flyer’s own Invisible Radio Theater returns with old-fashioned radio humor. Full Story

A Man Named Pearl

In 1976, Pearl Fryar took a job in a can factory in Bishopville, South Carolina. 

He and his wife Metra tried to buy a house in an all-white neighborhood, but they were met with prejudice and told that, “Black people don’t keep up their yards.”

Racism and bigotry be damned, The Fryar’s bought a house in a black neighborhood and Pearl began his garden.  His garden would eventually win the Bishopville Yard of the Month award.

The film A Man Named Pearl chronicles his creative spirit.  At the age of 67, after working a twelve hour factory shift, Pearl comes home, precariously balances himself on a tall ladder and prunes and shapes his trees using the headlights of his lawnmower to light his way.

Spectacular, the garden has brought him national and international acclaim. The most popular time for visitors is during the May through September months when the topiary are the most lush. Read full story here.