State of the City Highlights Little Rock’s Strengths

We shared Little Rock’s story of strength, resiliency, unity, and transformation last week at the annual State of the City address. We hope you were able to join us at The Hall for the 2026 event. If you were unable to attend, you can watch on the City’s YouTube channel.

In 2026, we are well positioned to continue our record jobs growth, keep crime rates trending downward, and make housing more affordable for all through our newly created Housing Trust Fund. On the way this year are a mobile market, a grocery store on wheels bringing fresh, nutritious food to our City’s food deserts, and a senior citizens center at The Centre at University Park.

We are investing $1 million more in technology to support our Real Time Crime Center, and we are making additional investments in code enforcement and beautification measures to prevent blight and protect public safety.

This year, we will move forward with the re-imagination of our Downtown core by investing in 30 Crossing Park and the $25 million renovation of River Market Hall. This complements the half-billion dollars in investments we have seen across Downtown the last few years.

To improve quality of life and place, we are launching “30 for 30,” a bold new initiative to fund major improvements to our City parks by raising $30 million by 2030. We are asking individuals, corporations and philanthropic groups to partner with us through gifts to the nonprofit City Parks Conservancy.

We are proud of our progress, and the work continues.

Little Rock’s story is still being written, and together, we will shape the next chapter to be our strongest ever. Truly, the best is yet to come.  

Unity Service Honors Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Each year, we join together as a City to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the transformational impact he has made on Little Rock, the nation, and the world. His work and his words are a reminder of how far we have come, and how much more we have left to do, as we advocate for equity, justice, and civil rights.

This year’s City of Little Rock Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Service was a reminder of Dr. King’s life and legacy, and it was a call to action for all of us. We are grateful to Dr. Kelon Duke of Miami, Florida, for serving as our featured speaker for the 2026 Unity Service. Dr. Duke is senior pastor of New Jerusalem Primitive Baptist Church in Miami.

We appreciate the faith leaders and dignitaries who joined us for the event, including program participants Dr. Phillip L. Pointer, Sr. of our host church, Saint Mark Baptist Church; Rev. George Shears III, senior pastor of New Hope Baptist Church; Dr. Maurice D. Gipson, president and CEO of Philander Smith University; Rev. Cesar Ortega, pastor at CityServe Arkansas; Rev. Brittany Stillwell, associate pastor at Second Baptist Church Downtown; Rev. Mark DeYmaz, founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas; Rev. Ben Parkinson, teaching pastor at Fellowship Bible Church; Rev. Rex Horne, pastor of Hope Church; Rev. Deborah Bell, senior pastor of Theressa Hoover Memorial United Methodist Church; Rev. Preston Clegg, senior pastor of Second Baptist Downtown; Dr. Dwight Townsend, senior pastor of Longley Baptist Church; Dr. Maurice Watson, senior pastor of Second Baptist Church; and our emcees, Bill Walker and Pulaski County Clerk Terri Hollingsworth.

We were blessed by the voices of the Philander Smith University Collegiate Choir and by the Unity Choir and Praise Team made up of singers from Saint Mark Baptist Church, Second Baptist Church, Longley Baptist Church, and New Hope Baptist Church.

If you missed the 2026 MLK Unity Service, you can watch it here.