Black Catholic Studies Reader: History and Theology

302 Pages·2021·1.869 MB·English

by  David J. Endres (Editor)

Black Catholic Studies Reader

Black Catholic Studies Reader:
History and Theology

David J. Endres, Editor

The Catholic University of America Press
Washington, DC
Copyright © 2021
The Catholic University of America Press
All rights reserved

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standards for Information Science—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.

∞

Cataloging-in-Publication Data available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-0-8132- 3429-8
Contents

Foreword: Cardinal Wilton Gregory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction: David J. Endres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Contributor Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

Black Catholic Studies

Speaking the Truth: The Black Catholic Intellectual
Vocation
Bryan N. Massingale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

History

Black History and Culture
Thea Bowman, F.S.P.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Black Catholics in the United States:
A Historical Chronology, 1452–2020
Ronald LaMarr Sharps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Outsiders Within: The Oblate Sisters of Providence
in 1830s Church and Society
Diane Batts Morrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Spirituality

We’ve Come This Far by Faith: Black Catholics and
Their Church
Diana L. Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Called to Be Leaven: Reflections on African American
Catholic Spirituality
Cyprian Davis, O.S.B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
v
“Gonna Move When the Spirit Say Move”: A Black
Spirituality of Resistance and Resilience
C. Vanessa White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Liturgy

Thank God We Ain’t What We Was: The State of the
Liturgy in the Black Catholic Community
Clarence Joseph Rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

The African American Catholic Hymnal and the
African American Spiritual
M. Shawn Copeland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Sister Thea Bowman: Liturgical Justice through
Black Sacred Song
Kim R. Harris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Lives and Writings

Writing Black Catholic Lives: Black Catholic Biographies
and Autobiographies
Cecilia A. Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Freeing the Spirit: Very Personal Reflections on
One Man’s Search for the Spirit in Worship
Clarence Joseph Rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Black Catholic Scholarship, 1854–2020
Ronald LaMarr Sharps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
vi
Foreword

EDITING ANY ANTHOLOGY of thematic texts is a risky undertaking
because it involves making some tough choices among many
possible attractive options. I applaud the editor, Father David
Endres, for his selections of the writings of a number of prominent
African American Catholics in this Black Catholic Studies Reader.

He has made his selections in the midst of an intense period for
our Church, our nation, and our world in response to the penetrat-
ing and ongoing scrutiny of personal and institutional racism. The
selections represent different viewpoints, eras, and backgrounds.
Yet, there is a common thread that unites all of the texts. They each
demonstrate the depth of faith, dedication, and hope of the authors
in our Catholic faith. Each author nudges—some more assertively
than others—the Church to live up to our mission of evangelization
and welcome.

Anthologies are never exhaustive in their scope, and the best
ones should always entice a reader to probe more deeply the issues
that are introduced by each author. Father Endres has chosen repre-
sentatives from the theological and historical sciences. He includes
women, men, religious, and lay contributors who represent different
perspectives on the challenges that the Church faces in caring for
and serving People of Color in an environment where we are not the
dominant culture.

Father Endres categorizes his selections in areas that have
important significance for African American Catholics: Black
Catholic studies, history, spirituality, liturgy, and biography. Each of
these topics touches upon the unique religious experiences of Black
Catholics, and they are areas where the Black Catholic experience
can offer both insight and inspiration for the entire Church.

For those who have little personal experience with or knowl-
edge of the African American religious heritage, these selections will
vii
be a helpful introduction to the spiritual legacy that can be found
within African American Catholicism. For African American
Catholics, these selections will help us to reconnect with a heritage
that we share with other Black Christians. Both audiences will find
information that can be enlightening and transforming.

I recommend a careful review of the bibliographical references
contained in the articles in the anthology. These additional selec-
tions expand the possibilities for further studies.

This anthology is a prelude to highlighting the contributions
that we Black Catholics have made to the Church in the United
States and are eager to continue offering to the entire Church as a
valuable gift and contribution to our one family of faith. I recom-
mend it highly as a valuable tool and resource.

Wilton Cardinal Gregory
Archbishop of Washington, D.C.
viii
Introduction

IN 1968, at a time of increased racial tensions and violence, the Black
Catholic Clergy Caucus offered a stinging indictment: “The
Catholic Church in the United States, primarily a white racist institu-
tion, has addressed itself primarily to white society and is definitely a
part of that society.” It challenged the Church to repudiate all forms
of racism and to open itself to Black voices and leadership: “[U]nless
it is to remain an enclave speaking to itself, it must begin to consult
the black members of the Church, clerical, religious, and lay.”1

Fifty years later, Church and society continue to grapple with
systemic racism. The challenge of the Black Catholic Clergy Caucus,
however, is at least partially realized. A significant number of Black
Catholic voices have emerged: scholars, activists, teachers, and
clergy have taken up the task of reflecting on and communicating the
distinctiveness of being Black and Catholic in the United States. The
study of Black Catholic history and theology has come of age. Many of
the first generation of scholars, including Cyprian Davis, O.S.B., and
Thea Bowman, F.S.P.A., have passed on. Inspired by them, a new gen-
eration of Black Catholic leaders and thinkers have emerged.

This Black Catholic Studies Reader joins the best of the earlier
generation of scholars with recent contributions to the history and
theology of the Black Catholic experience. Contributions delve
into the interlocking fields of history, spirituality, liturgy, biogra-
phy, and bibliography. Through their contributions, Black Catholic
Studies scholars engage theologies of liberation and the reality of
racism, the Black struggle for recognition within the Church, and
the distinctiveness of African-inspired spirituality, prayer, and wor-
ship. By considering their racial and religious identities, these
select Black Catholic theologians and historians add their voices to
1 “Statement of the Black Catholic Clergy Caucus (1968),” in Mark Massa
and Catherine Osborne, eds., American Catholic History: A Documentary Reader, 2nd
ed. (New York: New York University Press, 2017), 199–202, quotes at 199 and 201.
ix