Immigrants helped shape Arkansas. The state shouldn’t forget that history.

Immigrants helped shape Arkansas. The state shouldn’t forget that history.

Taken between 1899-1900, this photo shows the first class of students who attended a one-room school for Italian immigrants in Tontitown, Arkansas. (Tontitown Historical Museum courtesy of the Basitanelli Collection)I’ve never been to Tontitown, nor have I had the pleasure of partaking in its storied annual Grape Festival. But the northwest Arkansas community founded by Italian immigrants feels familiar to me. That’s partly because of Deputy Edi…