Arlein Ford Straw
Arlein Ford Straw | |
|---|---|
 Arlein Ford Straw, from a 1967 publication | |
| Born | January 15, 1920 New York City |
| Died | February 10, 2009 (aged 89) New York City |
| Other names | Arlene Ford Straw |
| Occupation(s) | Music teacher, composer |
| Spouse | Irving Straw |
| Parent(s) | Arnold Josiah Ford, Olive Nurse Ford |
Arlein Ford Straw (January 15, 1920 – February 10, 2009) was an American music teacher and composer. She helped create The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) songbook.
Early life and education[edit]
Ford was born in New York City, the second daughter of Arnold Josiah Ford and Olive Nurse Ford. Her father was from Barbados, a musician and religious leader known as "Rabbi Ford".[1][2] After her parents separated in 1924, she lived in Barbados for a few years, then in Harlem, where she played piano with her father and her sister Enid.[2]
Ford graduated from Wadleigh High School for Girls in 1936, and won a Rachel Herstein Scholarship from the NAACP to attend Hunter College.[3][4] She graduated from Hunter in 1940,[5] and earned a master's degree there in 1962; her thesis was a composition, a musical setting of Psalm 139.
Career[edit]
During and after college, Ford and her older sister Enid played piano for children's shows called Ella Gordon's "Peter Pan Kiddies".[6][7][8] She taught music at schools in Queens,[9] and chaired Negro History and Brotherhood Week observances for the Jamaica branch of the NAACP.[10] In 1952, her work was performed at the annual meeting of the National Association of Negro Musicians.[11] She contributed music to a 1958 event organized by composer Margaret Bonds, in tribute to poet Langston Hughes.[12] She served on the committee to develop Lift Ev'ry Voice, the NAACP's official songbook.[13] She was a church music director in her later years.[14]
Straw composed several works, including "Sudan" (1951),[9] "Lullaby Little One" (1953), with Rena Greenlee Govern,[15] "Crucifixion" (1957) for three female voices,[16] "Two Songs of Freedom" (1967), with lyrics by her NAACP colleague Florence V. Lucas,[17][18] and Bent Twig (1998), a "folk opera" with lyrics by her neighbor, social work professor Helen Roberts Williams.[14][19] When Bent Twig was performed in Baltimore in 1998, she and other members of her church in Queens took a bus together to attend the performance.[14]
Personal life[edit]
Arlein Ford married railroad worker Irving Straw in 1940. They had two children, Clyde and Gerald. She died in 2009, at the age of 89, in New York City.
References[edit]
- ^ "Negroes of Harlem Seek Financial Pilot for Craft". The Knoxville Journal. 1930-12-09. p. 15. Retrieved 2022-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Dorman, Jacob S. (2016). Chosen People: The Rise of American Black Israelite Religions. Oxford University Press. pp. 118–121. ISBN 978-0-19-049009-6.
- ^ "Win College Scholarships". The Crisis: 271. September 1936.
- ^ "NAACP Awards 2 N.Y. Scholarships". The New York Age. 1936-08-08. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "21 Harlem and Bronx Residents Among 900 Graduates at Hunter". The New York Age. 1940-07-06. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Finger, Mary (1939-01-21). "Ella Gordon's Peter Pan Kiddies Captivate Large Number at Heckscher Theatre Recital". The New York Age. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ella Gordon's Peter Pan Kiddies Shine in Renaissance Recital". The New York Age. 1940-06-15. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Finger, Mary (1942-03-07). "Winter Wonderland is Background for Semi-Annual Revue of Peter Pan Kiddies". The New York Age. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Feingold, Ben (1951-06-09). "Broadway Patrol". The New York Age. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jamaica NAACP Plans History Celebration". The New York Age. 1958-01-25. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-01-07 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Diton, Carl (1952-08-15). "For N. Y. Honors Musicians Slated". The St. Louis Argus. p. 17. Retrieved 2024-01-07 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Musical Tribute to Poet, Author Langston Hughes". The New York Age. 1958-05-03. p. 19. Retrieved 2022-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NAACP Songbook Sales on Rise". The Crisis: 319. November 1972.
- ^ a b c Green, Judith (1998-02-05). "It's a Grand Weekend for Singing". The Baltimore Sun. pp. 1E, 5E. Retrieved 2022-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1953). Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. p. 682.
- ^ "Harlemites Pay Tribute to a Pioneer Musician". The Call. 1957-11-22. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-01-07 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New Song Published". Indianapolis Recorder. December 30, 1967. p. 7. Retrieved February 27, 2022 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
- ^ "Florence Lucas Dead at 71; Worked for Rights Division". The New York Times. 1987-09-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ "Bent Twig". The Baltimore Sun. 2008-10-09. pp. C6. Retrieved 2022-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.