Catholic Education and the African-American Community

DOCUMENT RESUME ED 399 614 EA 027 847 AUTHOR Chineworth, Mary Alice, Ed. TITLE 'Rise In' Shine: Catholic Education and the African-American Community. INSTITUTION National Catholic Educational Association, Washington, D.C. REPORT NO ISBN-1-55833-177-8 PUB DATE 96 NOTE 102p. AVAILABLE FROMNational Catholic Educational Association, 1077 30th Street, N.W., Suite 100, Washington, DC 20007. PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Blacks; *Catholic Schools; Cultural Pluralism; Curriculum Development; *Educational History; Elementary Secondary Education; Leadership; *Religious Education; *Social History IDENTIFIERS *African Americans ABSTRACT African-Americans have been present in Catholic schools since their beginnings in the United States. The six essays in this book examine Catholic education from the perspective of the African-American Catholic. The essays underscore the continued challenge for continuing Catholic schools in the African-American community. They include:(1) an overview of African-American Catholic culture and history, by Dr. Giles A. Conwill;(2) suggestions for transforming the curriculum for inclusion, by Sr. Eva Regina Martin, SSF; (3)a philosophy of black religious pedagogy, by Dr. Joseph A. Brown, SJ;(4) an examination of evangelization and spirituality in the African-American Catholic experience, by Therese Wilson Favors and Beverly A. Carroll;(5) African-American leadership in Catholic education, by Dr. Loretta M. Butler; and (6) descriptions of model schools, by Beverly A. Carroll. References accompany each article. Samples of gospel reflections and accompanying African proverbs are offered in the fourth essay. 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TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)... JflESTCOPY_AVAILABLE E AW AI AV AV km. AIII 11 MIL '11.15cr cthoutnancA ;-1) A11;tIiii4,Alt1 -09A11111? Mary Alice Chineworth, OSP Editor National Catholic Educational Association 3 WA ©1996, National Catholic Educational Association 1077 30th Street, N.W., Suite 100 Washington, DC 20007-3852 ISBN 1-55833-177-8 4 Dedication To the cherished memory of the Most Rev. James P. Lyke, archbishop of Atlanta, who shortly before his death forcefully reminded us that "Catholic education is the lifeblood of evangelization." , Isaiah: 60:1 "Arise, be enlightened, for thy light has come..." Traditional spiritual based on Isaiah: 'Rise, Shine; for thy light is a-coming'... V4. f Yl Foreword Most Rev. Joseph A. Francis, SVD Vll Contributing Authors and Editor X Introduction Sr. Catherine McNamee, CSJ Xl Acknowledgements 1 "Can These Bones Live?" Dr. Giles A. Conwill An Overview of African-American Catholic Culture and History 15 "We All Got a Right to the Tree Sr. Eva Regina Martin, SSF of Life" Transforming the Curriculum for Inclusion 29 "Little David, Play on Your Harp" Dr. Joseph A. Brown, SJ A Philosophy of Black Religious Pedagogy 51 "Don't Let This Harvest Pass" Therese Wilson Favors and Evangelization and Spirituality Beverly A. Carroll in the African-American Catholic Experience 69 "Lift Every Voice and Sing" Dr. Loretta M. Butler African-American Leadership in Catholic Education 83 Model Schools Beverly A. Carroll 89 Afterword Most Rev. John H. Ricard, SSJ DIOR IIam delighted and greatly honored to have been invited to write the foreword to this publication, 'Rise 'n' Shine: Catholic Education and the African-American Community. This scholarly publication is long overdue. Forty-four years ago, when I enrolled as a graduate studentat the Catholic University of America, I was dismayed to find no African-American professorsor scholars engaged in writing and teaching about the role that Catholic education had played in the formation and education of thousands of African Americansas far back as the eighteenth century. Courageous religious women and men, along with dedicat- ed lay persons, established schools for the newly freed slaves. They didso without approval of many church leaders and in some instances against their opposition. These early Catholic educators included African-American sisters and priests, who built on the foundations laid during the terrible periods of enslavement. We know that many African slaves took the Bible as their deliverance book and found that God in America, whom they may have known only in a shadowy form. While at Catholic University I became convinced that whatwas needed now were African-American women and men who would buildupon the foundation and tradi- tion of Catholic education provided by the Church, and by study, reflection and scholarly research, reveal to the Church and the world what African Americans had contributed and continue to contribute to education in general and,more specifical- ly, to Catholic education. The journey has been long, but much has been accomplished. Wenow have African-American religious, priests and lay people, whoare eminent scholars, capa- ble not only of speaking to the role of Catholic education in the African-American community but also in a much broader context, and who have played a major role in helping all of us to understand how African Americans have impactedon that education. One might say that our African-American Catholics are providing headynew wine and have the new wineskins in which to place that wine. The authors of this book bring us to an expanded view of what we andour African ancestors have seen and heard. Most Rev. Joseph A. Francis, SVD Rted. Auxiliary Bishop of Newark VI 1:. '44 CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS AND 'EDITOR SISTER MARY ALICE CHINEWORT11, OSP EDITOR A member of the Oblate Sisters of Providence since 1936, Sister Mary Alice was born in Rock Island, Illinois, and received her education (K through 12) in St. Joseph School there. Subsequently she earned a B.A. in English from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee and an MA and PhD from The Catholic University of America. After 20 years in the teaching ministry in schools of the order, she assumed editorial respon- sibility for Oblate News and Views, a publication of the community. She presently serves as director of ongoing formation and resides at the motherhouse in Baltimore, Maryland. BEVERLY A. CARROLL Beverly A. Carroll is the founding Executive Director of the Secretariat for Black Catholics of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Prior to her appointment in 1988, she served the Urban Church in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in various capacities beginning as clerk-typist and progressed to Executive Director of the Office of Urban Affairs. The Baltimore native earned a Bachelor's degree in Administration from the University of Maryland and a Masters in Liberal Arts from Towson State University.She has held many positions, including Secretary of the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators, and Administrator of Lawrence Cardinal Shehan Scholarship Fund. She received the 1988 Woman of the Year Award from Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and Martin Luther King Award for work in civil rights. She was the Archdiocesan Ambassador to the Eucharistic Congress in Nairobi, Kenya. She has served on the Paulist Board of Evangelization, the Board of Trustees for the Chicago Theological Union, the Holy Name Province of Franciscans' African American Committee, and currently serves on the Advisory Committee for the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana. She is the producer of "The Cypress will Grow" a video for evangelization in the African American community. Past accomplishments include Editor of filmstrips: "Unraveling the Evangelical Cord" and "If Rivers Could Speak," past President of the Fr. Charles A. Hall Cluster School, and participant in Black Womens' Exchange Program sponsored by the British Council of Churches. vii DR. JOSEPH A. BROWN, Si Formerly the director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, Fr. Brown has taught at the University of Virginia and Creighton University. He received a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University, and an MA in Black Studies, also from Yale. In addition, he received an MA from the writing seminars at Johns Hopkins University .Fr. Brown has published his poetry in various magazines and anthologies. A collection of his poems, "Accidental Grace" was Volume 6 of the Callaloo Poetry Series. He writes and lectures on issues concerning black theology, literature and philosophy and is a liturgical consultant to various groups in the black Catholic Church in the United States. DR. LORETTA A. BUTLER Dr. Butler, associate professor emeritus at

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