Michael Stoops

Michael Stoops is the director of community organizing for the National Coalition for the Homeless. In November 2004 the National Coalition selected Little Rock as the "meanest city" in the country for its treatment of homeless people. The city had just completed the closure of twenty-seven homeless camps in advance of the Clinton Library dedication. "This issue has been percolating here for some time," said Stoops in commenting on the title. "This is the first time that Little Rock has been documented in our report."

The National Coalition report suggested that the opening of the Library figured prominently in the decision to sweep the transient population from the streets of Little Rock. City manager Bruce Moore disagreed with this conclusion, "The Clinton library just has never been a factor in any of our decisions or dialogue."

References

• Andrew DeMillo and Jill Zeman, "LR Dubbed 'Meanest' for Homeless by Advocacy Group," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, November 9, 2004.