When the 95th General Assembly opened session on Jan. 13, Lincoln E. Barnett was sworn in to represent District 63 in the Arkansas House of Representatives, marking the next step in a political journey that began as a young child in Blackfish Lake, Ark., a small community near Interstate 40 located between Forrest City and West Memphis.
Growing up, Barnett attended school in Hughes. After riding the school bus home one day during his kindergarten year, he recalls asking his mother a question: “Mom, what’s wrong with Hughes?”
“To which she replied, ‘Baby, there’s a lot wrong with Hughes,’” Barnett said. “To which I thought, ‘Well, what are we going to do about it?’”
The conversation left an impression on Barnett, a member of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts Class of 2007. An encounter in sixth grade with the then-mayor of Hughes sparked an interest in one day becoming the mayor of Hughes himself. He would do so in 2018 when at the age of 29 he was elected as the youngest mayor in the town’s history as well as the second African American to hold the position.
Prior to serving as Hughes’ mayor, Barnett served as a member of the Hughes School District school board from 2012-2015, representing rural areas of the district including his home communities of Blackfish Lake and Heth. Declining enrollment forced the school district to consolidate with the West Memphis School District in 2015 in accordance with Act 60 of 2003.
“Many in the city of Hughes began to lose hope because they saw the school as the heart of the community,” Barnett said. “I initially felt that way also, but after engaging in community activism, preparing our community for the forced merger and advocating for students, parents and families, that childhood thought of ‘Well, what are we going to do about it?” led me to seeing no other option than offering myself to and for the service of the city of Hughes in the capacity of mayor.”
Barnett said his goal was to restore hope to and empower the people of Hughes by reminding them that it was the people who were the heart of the community and not the school. After his first term as mayor, he decided to seek the House District 63 seat, but he lost to the incumbent in the primary by 258 votes. He was soon back in the mayor’s office, however, when the Hughes City Council asked him to return as mayor in January 2023 after his successor abruptly resigned two days into their term of office.
“So that makes me both the 17th and 19th mayor of Hughes,” Barnett said.
In 2024, Barnett again decided to seek the District 63 seat. In the March 2024 primary, he earned a spot in an April 2024 runoff for the Democratic nomination and was then elected in the November 2024 General Election.
“I wanted better for my regional community, and I’m willing to do more than just complain. I ran because I was willing to step up and try to make a difference,” Barnett said. Now he gets that opportunity to do so in the Arkansas House of Representatives. “Our part of the state has many challenges, and it will take engaged leaders with the support of engaged citizens to collectively bring about and advocate for the progression of Eastern Arkansas and the overall state in general.”
Barnett said his service as both a school board member and a mayor in a small rural area has given him first-hand experience of direct citizen engagement to learn about and address from a ground level the challenges and obstacles people in the region and state face.
While a student at ASMSA, Barnett was involved in student governance, served as a Community Leader in the residence hall, served as president of the Rotary Interact Club and in other student organizations. He said that as a student he was challenged “to lead as a scholar among my peers in a rigorous setting which helped me sharpen my skills of critical thinking and thinking outside the box. As a student at ASMSA, I enjoyed the challenges each day brought.”
Barnett said he fondly remembers the time spent with his friends and peers during free time at ASMSA as well as mentoring his fellow students as a Community Leader. He also praised the wisdom he gained from his favorite teachers — Dr. Carolyn Hunter and Ernestine Ross. “They along with my mother helped keep me focused and challenged me daily to be my best in whatever I pursued and within whatever space I occupied.”
The freshman representative will serve on the House of Representatives Education Committee; the Aging, Children & Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs Committee; and as an alternate on the Joint Budget Committee. He hopes to use his time in the Legislature in a way that will most benefit his constituents, he said.
“My goals include giving voice to my constituents by supporting and proposing policies that will improve their quality of life and actively speaking against policies that will negatively impact their life. Also, I am looking forward to working across the political spectrum to bring about progressive change that will move the state of Arkansas forward and improve our state’s standing in the areas of public and affordable higher education, public and mental health, jobs and business growth, and food security.”
Barnett holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse College and a Master’s of Divinity with a concentration in ethics and counseling from Memphis Theological Seminary. He serves as pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Forrest City. In June 2024, he married Dr. Freda Cunningham, Pharm.D.
