FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- Arkansas is now one of only a few states in the country that has formed a committee centered around the ideas and values of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The commission for the state was established in the 1990s under then-Governor Bill Clinton by executive order.
Senior Pastor of St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Smith, Paul Davis was chosen to head the Arkansas MLK Commission's third congressional district.
That district covers Northwest Arkansas, the River Valley and parts of Russellville. It also serves around 270,000 people.
"My job and role is to make sure the principles and ideas that we have in place as a commission are really put to work. Really, our mission is to promote non-violence, to make sure we look at multi-culture diversity, look at inequities," Davis said.
Davis will be taking a hard look within communities in his district to help pinpoint a lack of diversity, poverty, and lack of education. He will then bring that back to the commission as a whole in hopes of bringing change.
"I believe that if you can have a seat at the table, we can have a conversation and say, 'You know what? You and I aren't that different.' It's a matter of figuring out if I can make it how do we help somebody else," Davis said.