The Catholic Church and Civil Rights in Selma, Alabama, 1937-1965

407 Pages·2014·0.92 MB·English

by  Digital Media Lab

The Hottest Places in Hell: The Catholic Church and Civil Rights
in Selma, Alabama, 1937-1965
Gregory Nelson Hite
Yonkers, New York
B.A., Bates College, 1991
M.A., University of Virginia, 1994
A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia
in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Religious Studies
University of Virginia
May, 2002
For My Family
Table to Contents
Abstract .. i-ii
Chapter Summary iii
Acknowledgements .. iv-vi
Introduction 1-12
Chapter 1: “An Effective Minority.” . 13-48
Chapter 2: “Patience.” . . 50-85
Chapter 3: “The Harvest is Great.” .... 86-129
Chapter 4: “Heaven.” ... 130-156
Chapter 5: “Sanctuary.” .. . 157-178
Chapter 6: “The Hottest Places in Hell.” ... 179-210
Chapter 7: “Peace Rather than Strife.” . 211-234
Chapter 8: “I Shall Go and See the King.” 235-279
Chapter 9: “Outside Agitators.” .. 280-321
Chapter 10: “We Shall Overcome.” 322-347
Chapter 11: “Pilgrimage.” . 348-396
Bibliography . 397-408
i
Abstract
This dissertation examines the role that Catholics played in the Selma Voting
Rights movement between 1962-1965, at both the local and the national level. It
assesses the reciprocal impact the Catholic Church and the civil rights movement had
upon each other. The goal of this dissertation is to integrate Catholics into the historical
narrative of the Selma campaign in particular and the civil rights movement in general.
The work traces the history of the Catholic Interracial movement in the United States
from its beginnings in the late 1920s through to the rise of the National Catholic
Conference for Interracial Justice (NCCIJ) in the early 1960s. The work also explores
the growth of the St. Elizabeth’s mission in Selma, Alabama 1937-1960.
My aim is to explore how a single religious community brings various physical,
economic, political and theological resources, at both the local and national level, to
bear upon a grassroots protest movement, and to expand our understanding of the full
range of resources the African American community was able to draw upon in the
struggle for civil rights. The Selma mission provides a safe haven for the nascent voting
rights movement. On March 7, 1965, state troopers brutally assaulted unarmed
peaceful protesters and national media was attention riveted upon the city. In answer to
a call by Martin Luther King, hundreds of men and women descended upon the city to
witness for justice. The NCCIJ mobilized a large Catholic presence to travel to the city
and participate in the demonstrations, signaling that the Church was prepared to take its
place among the mainstream denominations as an equal partner in the struggle for
social justice, and providing the movement with a fresh symbol of Christian witness.
ii
This dissertation assesses the impact the movement had on the church as it struggled
to reappraise its place in a changing America, and the means by which the Black
Freedom struggle was able to integrate itself into the American mainstream. How and
with what effect these two movements converge at Selma shaped the very nature of the
Church and the nation.
iii
Chapter Summary
Chapter 1: “An Effective Minority,” chronicles the history of the Catholic interracial
movement from its beginnings with Daniel Rudd’s Colored Catholic Conferences and
Turner’s Federated Colored Catholics through the rise of Father John LaFarge and the
New York Catholic Interracial Council. Chapter 2: “Patience” covers the establishment
of the National Catholic Council for Interracial Justice in 1958, and the initial Catholic
participation in the emerging civil rights movement, particularly the National Conference
on Race and Religion and the March on Washington.
Chapter 3: “The Harvest is Great,” explores the founding of the St. Elizabeth’s
mission in Selma, Alabama in 1937 by the Fathers of St. Edmund to 1960. Chapter 4:
“Heaven,” details the history of protest activity in Selma from 1930-1960, including the
work of the Dallas County Voters’ League, the effect of the 1954 Brown v Board of
Education decision, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Sit-ins and Freedom Rides. Chapter
5: “Sanctuary,” discusses the entrée of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
organizer Bernard Lafayette and the birth of the Alabama Voting Rights Project in 1962.
It explores the role the St. Elizabeth’s mission played in sustaining the nascent
movement. Chapter 6: “The Hottest Places in Hell.” Addresses the first two years of the
AVRP, 1962-1963 and the establishment of the Alabama Literacy Project in the
basement of the St. Elizabeth’s mission. Chapter 7: “Peace Rather than Strife,”
chronicles 1964, the final year SNCC was able to sustain an effective campaign in the
city. The chapter explores the various strategies Catholics, white and black, used to
deal with the demonstrations with particular emphasis on the relationship between
iv
Father Maurice Ouellet, S.S.E., pastor of St. Elizabeth’s, and Archbishop Thomas J.
Toolen.
Chapter 8: “I Shall Go and See the King,” examines the entrée of Martin Luther
King and the SCLC into Selma in January 1965 and the escalation of demonstrations
within and outside the city, the decision to mount a march to the state capital in
Montgomery to protest the killing of a demonstrator culminating in “Bloody Sunday,” and
the assault by state troopers on peaceful marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge,
March 7, 1965.
Chapter 9: “Outside Agitators,” Describes the aftermath of “Bloody Sunday” and
the mobilization of massive Catholic participation on the part of NCCIJ as well as the
response by the mission to such a large number of Catholic visitors. Chapter 10: “We
Shall Overcome,” documents the period immediately following “Bloody Sunday,” March
8-March 19, and highlights the symbolic and tactical importance of Catholic
participation. Chapter 11: “Pilgrimage,” describes the final march to Montgomery,
March 20-25, Catholic reaction to the demonstrations, particularly to the murder of Viola
Liuzzo, and the effects of the march on the Catholic Church and the movement.
iv
Acknowledgements
In a project of this size, and especially with one that takes this long, one incurs
innumerable debts. I was blessed to have had the strong support of mentors, family,
colleagues and friends. I was especially lucky to have a found myself at the University
of Virginia where I found not one, but two advisors. Father Gerald Fogarty and Dr.
Heather Warren have guided me over the past nine years as I strove to become a better
scholar, teacher and person. I am forever indebted to them both for the time, wisdom,
and trust they invested in me.
I met David Garrow in 1990 while a senior at Bates College. For over a decade,
he has served as a mentor and has been kind enough to share his insights with me at
every stage of my career and this project. I am deeply grateful to him for his advice.
Professors Wallace Best and John Mason have been unflagging sources of support and
encouragement to me throughout the process. Both Father Joseph McLaughlin, S.S.E.,
and Dr. Steven Longenecker graciously shared with me their knowledge and insight.
Much of this work is based upon hours of personal interviews. I offer my sincere
thanks to the Fathers of St. Edmund, Sisters of St. Joseph, the parishioners and staff of
the St. Elizabeth’s mission, the men and women of the diocese of Mobile, the people of
Selma, all of those who traveled to Selma, as well as those who had other parts to play.
All shared their time, their stories and their passion with me. I hope that I have l done
justice to the story with which they have so carefully entrusted to me.
I have had the pleasure and honor of working with numerous special collections
across the country. Archbishop Oscar Lipscombe of Mobile served as chancellor under
Archbishop Toolen in 1965. He allowed me complete access to the diocesan archives.
v
His vote of confidence inspired me to tackle the more difficult aspects of the project. I
offer my thanks and appreciation to John Shepherd at the Catholic University of
America, Phil Runkel at the Marquette University, Tom Gino and Pauline Giancoloa at
Edmundite Archives at St. Michael’s College, the Society of St. Edmund Archives at St.
Michael’s College, Alston Fitts at the St. Elizabeth’s mission archives in Selma, Sister
Jean Agnes Michaud, S.S.J., and Kathy Urbanic at the Sisters of St. Joseph Archives at
the Motherhouse in Rochester, Kevin Cawley at the University of Notre Dame Archives,
and Jim Bagget at the Birmingham Public Library. The staffs at the Amistad Research
Center, the Chicago Historical Society the Chicago Archdiocesan Archives, Georgetown
University Special Collections, and most importantly at the librarians at the University of
Virginia were always kind, helpful and supportive of the project.
I would like to thank the Department of Religious Studies at the University of
Virginia. Their generosity allowed me to complete the project. There is one historical
truth everyone must recognize: the office staff is the small cog around which the
universe revolves. I thank all of the departmental secretaries for their help,
encouragement and assistance: Dianne, Linda, Doug, and especially Fonda, thank you.
I would also like to thank Dean Robert Huskey for his support over the years.
All the residents of the fun house who when they signed their lease unknowingly
joined me on this project. Thank you for dropping me off at the library, abducting me
from the library, and, in both cases, watching the dog while I was gone. I thank all the
people who I have had the pleasure of working with for the last two years at the South
Street Brewery. You provided me not only with friendship, love and support, but a safe
place, away from books and school, to work, think and relax. To all my friends,
colleagues and teammates in Charlottesville and elsewhere: thank you. I cannot
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possible offer enough thanks to all who have helped me, but a few deserve special
mention: Leslie Urofsky, Jeff Earl, Michael Utzinger, Trent Pomplun, Brian Philips,
Kristine Lalonde-Mosse, Wes Sechrest, Scott Tobler, Jacquie Bussie, Kelly Mezic, Anne
Armstrong, David Hoch, Claiborne Fogleman, John Marone, and Fred Greenewalt.
Your friendships have meant more to me than you can possibly imagine.
And finally to my family. The debt that I owe to you all is incalculable. Thank you
for your love, support, encouragement and the occasional threat. Thank you for taking
me in, and more importantly understanding when I could not be with you—know that I
thought about you all at every turn. I dedicate this project to you.