Louis Perry Bryant

Louis Bryant was born and raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  He attended grade school at Lincoln Elementary, junior high at Woodland and then spent his high school career at Fayetteville High School.  While in high school, Louis lettered in baseball, football, track, and basketball.  In 1966, he was named to the All-Tournament team at Arkansas Tech University and All-State in basketball.

Louis was the very first African American athlete to be recognized and honored at Fayetteville High School for lettering in all four sports. In 1964, Louis was the first African American to play in the Arkansas basketball state tournament and he was on the first integrated team to play basketball against high schools such as Conway, El Dorado, and Texarkana.  Like other African Americans in Arkansas, who were the first to break color barriers, Louis Bryant was a pioneer.  He was a hero not only for his accomplishments on the hardwood that won the admirations of his teammates, schoolmates, and much of the community of Northwest Arkansas, but also for his role in the integration of high school sports in Arkansas.  Besides starring in all four sports and being known for his huge hands, Louis was an accomplished pianist.  He performed in piano recitals in Fayetteville.

Louis walked on at the University of Arkansas to run track and then transferred to the College of the Ozarks.  Later, he joined the Air Force where he had a stellar career.  Louis returned to Fayetteville after his stint in the Air Force to join the Fayetteville police force.  In December of 1974, Louis joined the Arkansas State Police. Ten years later, on June 30, 1984, Trooper Bryant was shot and killed by a member of a terrorist group during a routine traffic stop.  He will forever be remembered as a hero to his high school teammates and fellow police officers.

Louis is survived by his wife, Wynona Bryant Williams and his two children, Louis Perry Bryant, II and daughter, Kimberly Nicole Bryant Gardner, and grandchildren, Camille and Olivia Gardner and Abigail Bryant and his mother, Mrs. Jesse Bryant.