John LaFarge and the Limits of Catholic Interracialism, 1911-1963 by David W. Southern (review)

BOOK REVIEWS525 understood as various manifestations of his ecumenical dream. Christensen states that Briggs beUeved "that free inquiry, comparative historical research, and honest debate would bring about a synthesis of beUef and practice out of the variety of expressions of the faith. Historical critical study . . . would bring consensus, and differences between church bodies would eventuaUy be reconcUed in a comprehensiveness (one of Briggs's favorite words) which aUowed for a variety of temperaments." Of particular interest to CathoUc biblical scholars and historians of Modernism, Christensen documents Briggs's central role (Ln league with Baron von Hügel) in attempting to deflect the fuU brunt of the papal condemnation of critical biblical and historical scholarship in Pascendi and Lamentabili. Christensen offers students of the modern ecumenical movement, as weU as students of GUded Age reUgion, a smart new "read" on one of the most famous figures of the era. Christensen deftly makes comprehensible one of the most complex scholars in the history ofAmerican reUgion. Mark S. Massa, SJ. Fordham University John LaFarge and the Limits ofCatholiclnterracialism, 1911-1963- By David W Southern. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. 1996. Pp. xxüi, 385. $45.00.) As Professor David Southern mentions in his preface, Father John LaFarge, SJ., came to his attention while Southern was doing research on the influence of Gunnar Myrdal'sAn American Dilemma.Additional research on LaFarge left Southern wondering why no scholarly book had been written on this pioneer Catholic interracialist. Given Southern's interest in race issues, he hopes this work wiU help in the larger effort to move CathoUc history from the margins of American history and integrate it with American history. This thoroughly researched book succeeds both in analyzing LaFarge's successes and faUures and in comparing LaFarge's interracial work to the larger civU rights movement. The first three chapters estabUsh the context for understanding this son of the famous nineteenth-century artist. Professor Southern argues that from the aristocratic famUy background, the Jesuit formation and education, and the prevaUing racial attitudes of church and society what emerged was a priest who could be described as paternalistic, conservative, defensive, overly prudent, cautious , and ambivalent aboutAfrican-American culture. From this combination of experiences,John LaFarge developed a gradual, long-term approach to racial issues . The next five chapters cover the period from LaFarge's joining the staff of America in 1926 until 1941.The important issues discussed are: interraciaUsm versus black protest, LaFarge's relationship with Victor and Constance Daniel, 526BOOK REVIEWS the estabUshment of the CathoUc Interracial Council of New York and the interracial movement, and LaFarge's opposition to communism, fascism, and racism.Two cases which receive great attention are LaFarge's relationship with the Federated Colored Catholics (FCC) and the closing of the Cardinal Gibbons Institute in southern Maryland. Professor Southern argues that John LaFarge steered the FCC away from the mission of its founder, Dr.ThomasWyattTurner, as a CathoUc African-American protest organization toward the less confrontational interracial approach. The closing of the Cardinal Gibbons Institute involved a protracted battle with the principal and assistant principal of the school,Victor and Constance Daniel. From these two cases, LaFarge's reputation emerges battered and stained. In the remaining biographical chapters, Professor Southern examines LaFarge 's and the Catholic interracial movement's responses to the race question through the "hot" and "cold" wars, the civü rights movement in the pre- and post-Brown decision era, and the final years ofJohn LaFarge's Ufe.The final two chapters of the book provide a summary about John LaFarge's interracial work within American CathoUcism and a postscript on black CathoUcism. Professor Southern has written a very interesting and intriguing book which examines not only the life of a pioneer Catholic interraciaUst but also examines in a thorough manner the CathoUc efforts to address the American dUemnia. He poses some very provocative questions and offers historical interpretations which deserve further discussion and study. His concluding Unes Ui the summation of LaFarge jump off the page: "StUl, for roughly three decades LaFarge was the primary spokesman for the American CathoUc church on black-white relations.This fact alone speaks volumes about the church's past record in...