Dwayne Hall, a part-time local organic farmer, complained to Texarkana Arkansas city officials about the local farmers market in 2004. According to Hall, the manager, Mrs Jones, was not fair in her administration of the facility. Hall accused Mrs. Jones of putting her friends in the better spots to sell their produce. He related instances where even though there was clearly good spots open, he and other new and black farmers were made to sell their produce by the facility’s bathroom.

Mrs. Jones had been managing the market for several years and she had a list of growers that had applied to sell vegetables under the common awning. Hall had been on the list for 2 years but never seemed get tot the top. Hall asked the city officials for a copy of the list but never got one.

The fees paid to the market, a city department, were supposed to be turned in to the city by Mrs Jones, who collected them. Hall asked for an accounting of the fees, but never received that either.

Hall appeared before the City Board of Directors in 2005 when another grower complained of unfair treatment by Mrs. Jones. "I have personally witnessed discrimination against black growers by Mrs. Jones at the Farmers Market" said Hall, "I feel that if more than one of us is making this allegation, it should at least be investigated by the city officials."

Now, a few years later, the market is alive, well, and managed by the Master Gardeners of Texarkana, a group of concerned and educated growers that administer it in a fair manner. Hall never gave up on the growers, saying "These people who till the earth, and grow our food with bare hands, should be given fair treatment and be listened to even if they can’t address a crowd like a professional speaker."

Hall is now a candidate for Texarkana Arkansas City Board in Ward 2.