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C H A P T E R I The Genesis of Southern Catholic Interracialism, 1917–1947 N TWENTIETH-CENTURY AMERICA, war, poverty, and idealism gave rise to Catholic interracialism—organized interaction and cooperation between black and white Catholics to promote racial harmony and advance racial justice. Catholic interracialists did not engage in mass protests or acts of civil disobedience to challenge racial segregation; rather they attempted to convert the hearts and minds of their coreligionists to bring about change. Though often criticized for this nonconfrontational approach, Catholic interracial activism did effect some immediate change as well as lay the foundation for further advancements in Catholic civil rights. While the First World War and the Great Depression were the immediate causes for the development of the interracial movement, belief in human solidarity was the underlying principle. The roots of Catholic interracialism are found in black Catholic protest and grew out of the Catholic conviction that all people, as members of the human race, were due respect as children of God. Furthermore , the practice of racial segregation was eventually seen to be incongruent with the unifying message of Christianity. THOMAS WYATT TURNER, JOHN LAFARGE, S.J., AND THE FEDERATED COLORED CATHOLICS The first Catholic Interracial Council evolved from black Catholic protest during World War I. At that time, black Catholic soldiers received little social support and attention compared with white Catholic servicemen, who were cared for by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic social and benevolent fraternity, under the auspices of the American bishops’ National Catholic War Conference (NCWC). A delegation of six black Catholic laymen, headed by Howard University professor Thomas Wyatt Turner, meet with Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore to discuss the situation. Gibbons recommended they voice their concerns I 11 Anderson final pages 8/10/05 9:15 AM Page 11 to the NCWC, which they did, and soon thereafter, black Catholic servicemen began receiving assistance. Black protest brought about change for black Catholics involved in the war, and that experience lead to the creation of a black Catholic protest movement.1 Thomas W. Turner, leader of the black Catholic protest movement, was born in 1877 in southern Maryland. Reared a Catholic, Turner graduated with a degree in biology in 1901 from Howard University. He began graduate studies in the natural sciences at the then-desegregated Catholic University of America, and then he taught in Alabama, Missouri, and Maryland before returning to Howard in 1913 to teach biology. Turner earned his doctorate in biology from Cornell University in 1921 and joined the faculty of Hampton Institute in Virginia three years later.2 His interest in and devotion to his church led him to protest racial segregation. Based on his experience protesting the treatment of black Catholic soldiers during World War I, Turner and his coreligionists established the Committee for the Advancement of Colored Catholics in 1916, changing the name to Federated Colored Catholics (FCC) in 1924. The organization’s purpose was to promote unity among black Catholics, to advance black Catholic interests within the church, and to involve black Catholics in the promotion of racial justice . Members of the FCC elected Thomas Turner its first president in 1924.3 From 1916 to 1932, these black Catholics ran their own organization. Led by blacks for blacks, the FCC regularly called upon the church hierarchy to address their needs and concerns, focusing on Catholic education, Catholic organizations , the priesthood, and race relations within the church. The lack of Catholic educational opportunities for black children was appalling, and members felt their children were being treated as though they were not Catholics and “not expected to share in the Church’s blessings.” The Catholic University of America, where Turner had briefly pursued graduate studies, no longer admitted blacks, thus denying black Catholics access to what was supposed to be America’s premier Catholic institution of higher learning. Church organizations, such as the Knights of the Columbus, discriminated against blacks, and desegregating the priesthood remained problematic. Faced with discriminatory practices within the church, FCC members argued that racial intolerance was unjust and had to be ended.4 The FCC expressed displeasure with the state of Catholic race relations through resolutions passed at their annual gatherings as well as through letters to the United States bishops and clergy. On a regular basis, members called for Catholic education for black children, admission of blacks to Catholic University, representation and participation in Catholic organizations, and more black priests. The FCC was not the only organization concerned with...

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