Janis Faye Kearney was born on September 29, 1953, in Gould, Lincoln County, Arkansas.
She earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
She started her career at the Arkansas State Press , which she bought from Daisy Bates. In 1993 she joined the Clinton administration and then becam e the first presidential diarist in 1995. Kearney completed a two-year fellowship at the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute of African and African American Studies.
She has authored numerous books , including Cotton Field of Dreams and Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton-From Hope to Harlem.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Janis Kearney and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Ethel Virginia Curry, mother of Janis Kearney, in her early twenties
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: John L. Kearney, first lawyer in Kearney family
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Luther and Emma Curry at Magnolia homestead, ca. mid-1960s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Varner Road, near Gould, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Kearney siblings: Jo Ann, Jerome, Janis, and Jeff, 1967
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Janis Kearney and Jo Ann Lyons, 1972
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Janis Kearney poses for University of Arkansas Razorback beauty photo, 1973
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Janis Kearney and D. K. in Fayetteville, Arkansas, 1973
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Janis Kearney in costume for a play at the University of Arkansas, 1973
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Janis Kearney, with her sister, Jo Ann, a nephew and sister-in law; Fayetteville, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Sketch of Janis Kearney drawn by Jim Borden, 1979
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Janis Kearney, 1975
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Janis Kearney in costume for a play at the University of Arkansas, 1976
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Ethel and James Kearney, parents of Janis Kearney, ca. 1975
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: James and Ethel Kearney, parents of Janis Kearney
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Kearney family during Reunion Sunday
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: James Kearney, superintendent of Rankin Chapel Sunday School
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: James Kearney, father of Janis Kearney
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Janis Kearney with her mentor, Daisy Bates
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Janis Kearney interviewing Governor Bill Clinton
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Kearney brothers with patriarch, James Kearney
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Kearney Reunion in Pine Bluff Park, Arkansas, ca. 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Janis Kearney with Bob Nash on an African safari
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Janis Kearney
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Silas Hunt Legacy Award portrait of Janis Kearney, 2006
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Varner Road, near Gould, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: Varner Road, near Gould, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Janis Kearney; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2006
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
