Tag Archives: Catholic Diocese of Little Rock

Little Rock Look Back: Little Rock reacts to death of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posted on by

On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis.  Thankfully Little Rock did not see the unrest that many cities did.

Part of that was probably due to quick action by Governor Winthrop Rockefeller. The Governor released a statement fairly quickly expressing his sorrow at the tragedy and calling for a day of mourning. He also made the State Capitol available for the NAACP to have a public memorial, as well as worked with a group of ministers to host an interdenominational service.

Little Rock Mayor Martin Borchert issued a statement as well:

We in Little Rock are disturbed about the incident in Memphis. We are disturbed regardless of where it had happened.  Killing is not the Christian solution to any of our problems today.

In Little Rock, we feel we have come a long way in 10 years toward solving some of our problems of living and working together regardless of race, creed or color.

The city Board of Directors in Little Rock has pledged itself toward continuing efforts to make Little Rock a better place in which to live and work for all our citizens.

We feel the efforts of all thus far have proved we can live in harmony in Little Rock and are confident such an incident as has happened will not occur in Little Rock.  We will continue our most earnest efforts toward the full needs of our citizens.

The day after Dr. King was assassinated, a group of Philander Smith College students undertook a spontaneous walk to the nearby State Capitol, sang “We Shall Overcome” and then walked back to the campus.  President Ernest T. Dixon, Jr., of the college then hosted a 90 minute prayer service in the Wesley Chapel on the campus.

On the Sunday following Dr. King’s assassination, some churches featured messages about Dr. King.  As it was part of Holy Week, the Catholic Bishop for the Diocese of Little Rock had instructed all priests to include messages about Dr. King in their homilies. Some protestant ministers did as well. The Arkansas Gazette noted that Dr. Dale Cowling of Second Baptist Church downtown (who had received many threats because of his pro-integration stance in 1957) had preached about Dr. King and his legacy that morning.

Later that day, Governor Rockefeller participated in a public memorial service on the front steps of the State Capitol. The crowd, which started at 1,000 and grew to 3,000 before it was over, was racially mixed. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Governor and Mrs. Rockefeller joined hands with African American ministers and sang “We Shall Overcome.”

That evening, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral was the site of an interdenominational service which featured Methodist Bishop Rev. Paul V. Galloway, Catholic Bishop Most Rev. Albert L. Fletcher, Episcopal Bishop Rt. Rev. Robert R. Brown, Rabbi E. E. Palnick of Temple B’Nai Israel, Gov. Rockefeller, Philander Smith President Dixon, and Rufus King Young of Bethel AME Church.

Earlier in the day, Mayor Borchert stated:

We are gathered this afternoon to memorialize and pay tribute to a great American….To achieve equality of opportunity for all will require men of compassion and understanding on the one hand and men of reason and desire on the other.

Sculpture Vulture: St. John the Baptist

Posted on by

On the grounds of the St. John Catholic Center are several sculptures.  Today’s entry focuses on the statue which is the focal point of the campus.  The statue of St. John the Baptist sits in front of the Morris Hall.  The campus was founded in the Heights in 1916.

St. John is depicted holding a crucifix in one hand.  With the other hand he is pointing to the sky in the manner of an exhortation.  At his feet is a lamb  looking up at him.  Interestingly, for a person who is depicted in the Bible as wearing camel’s hair, this John is wearing a robe.

Once, St. John the Baptist watched over the seminarians on the campus. Today he is more likely to watch over the various walkers, joggers, pets and others who use the greenspace on the grounds.  In addition, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra offices are currently located in a building on the St. John campus.

The statue was erected in memory of Thomas Lafferty an early Little Rock business leader.

Sculpture Vulture: St. Andrew

Posted on by

As runners in the Little Rock Marathon raced downtown today, they went past this sculpture of St. Andrew which sits in front of the Cathedral of St. Andrew near the race course.

The sculpture, St. Andrew – Ave Crux (Behold the Cross) was installed in 1979 under the leadership of Bishop Andrew J. McDonald of the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock and Monsignor B. F. McDevitt, Rector of the Cathedral of St. Andrew.

In 1981, the statue was dedicated as a memorial to Monsignor McDevitt.

The statue, by the sculptor Pedrini, is just under 10 feet tall and is carved out of Carrara marble.  It depicts St. Andrew holding a scroll with the words “Go Teach All Nations” as well as a string bag of fish.

These items pay homage to his background as a fisherman and his work as a disciple who taught and traveled as far as Russia, Turkey and Italy — far journeys from the Holy Land in ancient times.

The saltire, or X shaped cross, stands behind him.  Also known as St. Andrews cross, legend has it that he was crucified on a cross of this shape as opposed to the traditional “T” shape.