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The Limits to Catholic Racial Liberalism: the Villanova Encounter with Race, 1940-1985

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The Limits to Catholic Racial Liberalism: the Villanova Encounter with Race, 1940-1985 THE LIMITS TO CATHOLIC RACIAL LIBERALISM: THE VILLANOVA ENCOUNTER WITH RACE, 1940-1985 ______________________________________________________ A Dissertation Submitted to The Temple University Graduate Board ___________________________________________________________________ in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ___________________________________________________________________ by Thomas Mogan August 2013 Examining Committee Members: Bryant Simon, Advisory Chair, History William Cutler, History Beth Bailey, History Maghan Keita, External Member, History, Villanova University ii © Copyright 2013 by Thomas Mogan All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the process of desegregation on the campus of a Catholic university in the North. Focusing on Villanova University during the period from 1940-1985, the narrative explores the tension between the University’s public commitment to desegregation and the difficulties of implementing integration on a predominately white campus. Through oral histories, newspaper accounts (especially the student newspaper), University committee meeting minutes, administrators’ personal correspondence, and other internal documents, I examine how Villanova students and administrators thought about and experienced desegregation differently according to their race. In examining the process of desegregation, this dissertation makes two arguments. The first argument concerns the rise and fall of Catholic racial liberalism. In early post- World War II era, Catholic racial liberalism at Villanova was consolidated when the philosophy of Catholic interracialism combined with the emerging postwar racial liberalism. This ideology promoted the ideals of an equitable society where everyone had equal rights but it did so with a specific appeal to Christian morality. Catholic racial liberalism held that segregation, let alone racism and discrimination, was a sin. Therefore, Catholic racial liberals possessed an unshakeable faith in the ideal of integration. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Villanova adhered to the ideal of integration as the number of African American students increased. Indeed, a consensus of Catholic racial liberalism prevailed on campus. As the civil rights movement began to demand more of white Americans throughout the 1960s, the consensus of Catholic racial liberalism began to weaken as white Villanovans expressed racial anxieties. In the late iv 1960s, when black Villanova students adopted a position of Black Power and threatened to change the campus culture, the orthodoxy of Catholic racial liberalism was shattered. At Villanova, the 1970s were marked by the struggle to increase minority enrollment. These efforts represented a last desperate attempt by racial liberals to keep alive the civil rights movement’s promise of integration. Finally, during the 1980s, as affirmative action programs based on race in higher education came under fire, Catholic racial liberalism was replaced by the ideology of diversity. Therefore, I argue that the rise and fall of Catholic racial liberalism on Villanova’s campus demonstrated both the possibilities and the limits to this philosophy. Furthermore, the process of the desegregation of Villanova’s campus in the postwar period serves, then, as a microcosm for understanding the larger failure of integration in the United States. Second, I argue that, despite Villanova’s adoption of Catholic racial liberalism, meaningful integration proved elusive. The administration’s inconsistent efforts to recruit and to include African American students on campus demonstrated that they were unwilling to transform the campus culture to further the goals of the black freedom movement. Indeed, most white Villanovans, students and administrators, expected African Americans to simply be grateful for the chance to be at Villanova. This, of course, left black students on a campus that was desegregated but integrated in only the thinnest and least meaningful sense of the word. Integration is more than the absence of segregation, yet throughout the period of this study most black Villanova students continued to feel the sting of segregation on campus. In place of integration, Villanova University adopted a paradigm of “acceptance without inclusion” with regard to African American students on campus. v In tracing the limits to Catholic racial liberalism and the failure of integration, this research highlights the experiences of historical actors who have not appeared in the previous studies of Catholic higher education – black students. The investigation of the experiences of African American Villanova students reveals a story about race and Catholic higher education that moves the focus away from abstract commitments to racial equality and places it on the men and women who experienced the disparity between public pronouncements and day-to-day practice. To be sure, black Villanova students were not simply pawns in the social drama of desegregation. As such, the narrative examines how black Villanova students, by their presence and their activism, challenged the racial status quo and how white Villanova students and administrators responded to these challenges. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In completing this dissertation, I had the good fortune to be a part of two vibrant and supportive academic communities. Villanova University is more than simply a place where I work and teach. I also grew up as a historian in Villanova’s master’s degree program. As a result, I owe a debt of gratitude to my colleagues in the history department, especially Dr. Marc Gallicchio, Dr. Larry Little, and Dr. Maghan Keita. They have not only been supportive and encouraging of my work but, it is from them that I learned the craft of history. In particular, Dr. Keita inspired this work by challenging me to consider how notions of race complicate historical narratives. At Villanova, I am blessed to work with remarkable colleagues in the Division of Student Life. I received a great deal of encouragement from Kathy Byrnes and Father John Stack. O.S.A., and I am truly grateful to them for their guidance, support, and friendship. I also wish to acknowledge and thank the members of my staff who make my work life rewarding and enjoyable on a daily basis. A few other people at Villanova deserve special thanks. Dr. Terry Nance has always been there to challenge me and to help me think more deeply about issues that matter at Villanova and beyond. She is a dear friend and colleague. I also owe a big thanks to Dr. John Immerwahr who came along at a perfect time in this project and offered his support to read early drafts. I valued immensely his input and benefited greatly from his insights into this project. In terms of research support, I am indebted to the staff of Villanova’s Falvey Memorial Library, in particular Joe Lucia, Father Dennis Gallagher, O.S.A., and David Uspal. Joe Lucia helped me navigate the research process and encouraged his staff to vii support my endeavors. Father Gallagher, director of the Villanova Archives, was very generous with his time in helping me to locate materials. I enjoyed our long periods of time together in the Archives. And a special thanks to David Uspal who worked hard to help me create the website of the Villanova Black Oral History Project. At Temple University, I was blessed to work with a dedicated team of historians. Dr. Beth Bailey’s comments helped strengthen the final draft of this project but, just as importantly, the seminar I took with her early in my Temple career made me a stronger writer and a better historian. Dr. William Cutler asked probing questions which refined my arguments and I benefited tremendously from our conversations about higher education. This work would not have been possible without the incredible patience and persistence of my advisor, Dr. Bryant Simon. Dr. Simon gave generously of his time to make this a stronger work. He never let me become complacent and constantly pushed me to see the bigger issues at stake. He believed in this project and in me from the start and for this I am truly thankful. He is the consummate professional, a talented historian, and an even better advisor. This work is dedicated to two groups of people without whom this project would not have been possible – the African American alumni of Villanova and my family. First, I am indebted to all of the men and women whom I interviewed as part of this project. Their willingness to trust me and to open their hearts - and sometimes their homes - to me was inspiring. I was fortunate to have three gentlemen – Dr. Edward Collymore, Ted Freeman, and Napoleon Andrews – respond early on to the invitation to interview. These gentlemen assisted me greatly by reaching out to their friends to join the project. After we finished his interview, Villanova alum Johnny Jones suggested to me that we have a viii reunion of black alumni from this period. At that point in time, Mr. Jones had not been back to Villanova’s campus in 42 years. I told him, “If you promise to come, I will help to organize the event.” The Back and Black event in October 2012, where Villanova University welcomed back African American alumni, remains the highlight of my time at Villanova. It was a magical evening for all Villanovans – past, present, and future. To my family, I owe a heartfelt thank you. To my mother and father, thank you for teaching me the values of hard work, patience, and love. To my wonderful sons – Thomas, Patrick, and Brendan - who put up with a father who occasionally missed a game or family event, I say thank you for your patience and support. I am proud to finally be able to answer my youngest son Brendan’s incessant question, “When are you going to be done?” I am thrilled to be able to tell him that we can go have a baseball catch whenever he would like. Most importantly, this dissertation would not have been possible without the sacrifices made by my loving and supportive wife, Meghan. For too many years, she shouldered the family responsibilities while I was squirreled away in the library or in my office.
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