"Mighty oaks from little acorns grow" is an ancient adage. It fits Barbara Smith Conrad perfectly.
She could hardly have had a smaller start than her community of Center Point near Pittsburg, Texas, and her schooling in Queen City. Yet she rose from segregation and injustice to become a mighty opera singer who never forgot her deep roots in East Texas.
It was fitting, therefore, that her childhood church was the place for her funeral, though she will be buried in Austin among other Texas noteworthies.
Conrad was born Aug. 11, 1937, in Atlanta. She blossomed into an internationally renowned mezzo-soprano, singing under the baton of the world's finest conductors.
In 1957, at the center of an integration conflict, Conrad was denied the opportunity to sing the lead in an opera opposite a white male at the University of Texas. Despite the mistreatment, she continued her education and graduated from UT-Austin in 1959 with a degree in music.
In 2009, the Texas Legislature passed a resolution honoring Conrad for her achievements in 2009. And in return, she performed "Amazing Grace" in the rotunda of the Capitol.
Among her accomplishments were the following:
- Played Marian Anderson in the 1977 TV movie "Eleanor and Franklin"
- Performed at the White House for Lady Bird Johnson's 75th birthday
- Sang for Pope John Paul II in New York City
- Had her life chronicled by the University of Texas documentary "When I Rise"
- Won the Texas Medal of Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement
- Learned to speak French, Italian and German fluently
- Earned a Grammy nomination for her CD of spirituals, "Amazing Grace"
A memorial funeral service was held for her Saturday at Center Point Baptist Church, about which she wrote, "It was in this church that I was able to freely express all my joys and sorrows and find the source of inspiration, so that Jesus, my black Jesus, could dwell in me."
At the funeral service, Shawn Kennington, mayor of Pittsburg, said in a proclamation, "Pittsburg is proud of our citizens like Barbara Conrad, who have given our youth the vision that they, too, can achieve their desire if they set a goal and work hard and we honor this great and good woman."
Conrad died May 22 in New Jersey. After the Center Point service, she was taken for internment at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.