(upbeat music) Have you ever wondered about some of our holidays and why we celebrate them?

Sometimes we get off of school or businesses are closed.

But have you ever wondered about why we actually celebrate that day?

I'm sure you've all heard of Martin Luther King Jr. day.

This day is a national holiday when we celebrate the life and impact of Martin Luther King Jr. We celebrate this day on the third Monday of January, which typically falls very close to his birthday.

Well, there's another important holiday that has a very close connection to our state of Arkansas, and that's Daisy Bates Day, which falls on the third Monday of February each year.

Now, I bet some of you are wondering who Daisy Bates is.

Well, Daisy Bates was an African-American civil rights leader who was born and lived right here in Arkansas.

She was a journalist, and she and her husband both wrote articles for a newspaper in Little Rock.

Many of their articles focus on the need for social and economic improvements for the African-American residents of our state.

She often wrote about the inequities that African-American students faced in schools due to segregation.

During this time, black and white students were required to attend separate schools, and she was elected as the president of the NAACP in Arkansas.

And once segregation of schools was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, she led protests that helped to integrate schools right here in Arkansas.

She personally escorted non-African American students as they walked into Little Rock Central High School for the very first time.

Those students are known as the Little Rock Nine, and they were the very first students to attend that school.

You will see in these pictures right here.

Miss Bates, as well as Central High School Miss Bates was an advocate for black Arkansans, and her bravery left a lasting impact on our state.

We celebrate Daisy Bates Day each year to remember and honor her lasting legacy.

In fact, nationally recognized sculptor Benjamin Victor is working on the sculpture of Daisy Gatson Bates to represent Arkansas in Statuary Hall.

Daisy Bates will be featured in a new documentary that will shine a light on the selection, creation and installation of the two newest statues bound for Washington, D.C.. And you can learn more all about that right here on Arkansas PBS.

Now, I gave you some really great facts about Miss Bates.

I want you to go out, do your own research.

What else can you learn about her?

Why else do we celebrate this day?

I want you to either write your own story about her or share some interesting facts with somebody in your home.

Tell us again why Miss Bates is so important to us in Arkansas as well as kids and adults all around our country.

Thanks so much for joining me, and I hope you come back tomorrow for another fun day of learning with Arkansas Rise and Shine.

(bass music)