Independent Historian

Ericka Benedicto is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas. She currently works for the City of Little Rock where she serves as Diversity Program Manager for the Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission.  In addition to her municipal work, Benedicto is a social entrepreneur.  She is co-owner of Underground Escape, an escape room with game experiences designed around social justice themes.

Benedicto serves on the Arkansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and serves on the Steering Committee for the U of A Little Rock Racial Disparities in the Arkansas Criminal Justice System Research Project. Benedicto is also a peer reviewer for Common Ground Publishing.

She holds a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Central Arkansas; a Master of Arts in Human Resources Management from Webster University; and completed a graduate program in Conflict Mediation from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

She is currently a member of the National Forum of Black Public Administrators.

Lynching of Julia and Frazier Baker (1898)

Frazier Baker, a schoolteacher and married father of six, was appointed the first African American postmaster of Lake City, South Carolina, in July 1897 by President William McKinley. Baker and his wife Lavinia were born in Effingham, South Carolina, a mostly black area, where he had previously served … Read MoreLynching of Julia and Frazier Baker (1898)