Unknown to many, Texarkana has a connection to one of the largest mass killings in history.
Thirty-eight years ago, cult leader Jim Jones directed his followers to drink cyanide-laced Flavor-Aid, not Kool-Aid, and cross the divide between life and death. Almost a thousand people died Nov. 18, 1978, at the Jonestown compound in Guyana.
Bob Stroud survived.
He found his way to Texarkana, where he became an established member of the community, one-time manager of Cox Cable, and a disc jockey on the Texarkana airwaves.
Both Dr. Phyllis Gardner, Texarkana College professor, and Steve Mitchell of TC's KTXK radio knew Stroud and became familiar with the horrors of his past.
The duo will present Stroud's story, plus an in-depth look at the Jonestown Massacre as part of the college's Distinguished Lecture Series. It will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 14 in the Stilwell Humanities Building on campus, 2500 N. Robison Road.
They will present a slide show of disturbing images of the killings, death photos of the followers and a tape made during the massacre.
"A lot of this is not suitable for younger audiences," Mitchell said. "We want to stress that."
They will also stress the importance of people remembering this event.
"By not studying and understanding Jonestown people who forget history are doomed to repeat it," Gardner said. "Here we are with ISIS and al-Quaida and all these other organizations that have come about exactly the same way: disaffected people."
She said followers of these types of groups have needs that aren't being met, and they feel detached from society and their communities. When a charismatic leader comes along, it's a way for them to feel they are part of something larger and feel connected to other people.
"That's what caused Jonestown," she said. "That's what's used to recruit youth and people to these fundamentalist Islamic groups."
Gardner first became acquainted with Stroud in the mid-1990s, and he eventually became a student. His story of growing up intimately involved in the Jones family and household fascinated her to the point where her doctoral research focused on the sociology and psychology within the cult.
During the lecture, Gardner and Mitchell will explain how Stroud survived the massacre along with Stephen Jones, Jim Jones' son and a close childhood friend of Stroud's.
They will also the tell fascinating story of how Jones managed to recruit these people to leave their lives, their families and their jobs in the U.S. to live in Guyana, South America.
"It's a story many people don't know," Mitchell said.
The Distinguished Lecture Series began this school year as a way to promote the experiences and knowledge of the Texarkana College faculty and staff, said TC President James Henry Russell.
"It's a good way for us to promote our wonderful community and the incredible people that we have right here in this community," Russell said.
The Jonestown Massacre lecture is free and open to the public.