• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • About
  • Symposium
  • Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

The Little Rock Nine

Jeff Ostrowski · August 5, 2013

EVERAL WEEKS AGO, I wrote about Rach 3, but today’s article is not Rach 9 — it’s “Little Rock Nine.” Have you heard this fascinating story? I’ll give you the short version. If I make any major mistakes, please use the combox to correct me.

Basically, what happened was, in 1957, Governor Orval Faubus tried to use the Arkansas National Guard to keep African American students from attending Little Rock Central High School. However, President Eisenhower sent in troops from the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army to escort the students into the school.

For the entire year, those nine African American students were protected each day by federal troops. Faubus got so angry, he shut down the entire school district in 1958 for a whole year! Everyone ought to learn the details about this story. If anyone knows a historically accurate online video, please recommend it in the combox. I’d like to know what ever happened to those children.

Can you imagine having to go through such an ordeal as a kid? I would have been terrified. Besides, were the federal agents willing to protect each student’s home?

AS CHURCH MUSICIANS, we suffer a great deal. The deck seems to be “stacked” against us. Maybe you work hard to start something good, but your priest is transferred. Maybe you struggle to find talented singers in your parish. Perhaps your priest has treated you unjustly. The list goes on.

Sometimes, it helps to remember the tremendous suffering of others, such as the horrific plight of Christians in Eritrea. Our crosses are nothing compared to theirs. If we trust in God, He will give us the strength to continue.

I find the “Little Rock Nine” to be inspiring, and I’m glad it had a happy ending. On the other hand, we still have a lot of work to do in this country. Since 1973, we have “legally” murdered more than 50 million innocent children, and those are just the ones we know about.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: The Little Rock Nine Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Gregorian chant is the sacred chant, proper and principal of the Roman Church. Therefore, not only can it be used in all liturgical actions, but unless there are mitigating circumstances, it is preferable to use it instead of other kinds of sacred music.”

— §16, De Musica Sacra (1958)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “O Salutaris” (Modern Setting)
  • Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2022
  • PDF Download • 2022 “Vespers Booklet” (99 Pages)
  • “Playing the Pipe Organ” • By Richard Nixon
  • 16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

Copyright © 2022 Corpus Christi Watershed · Gabriel Lalemant on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.