Archbishop Rummel's Leadership in Troubled Times: Spiritual and Secular Discourses to Integrate Parochial and Public Schools
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2017 Archbishop Rummel's Leadership in Troubled Times: Spiritual and Secular Discourses to Integrate Parochial and Public Schools in New Orleans Kristina McKenzie-Hudson Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation McKenzie-Hudson, Kristina, "Archbishop Rummel's Leadership in Troubled Times: Spiritual and Secular Discourses to Integrate Parochial and Public Schools in New Orleans" (2017). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4372. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4372 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. ARCHBISHOP RUMMEL’S LEADERSHIP IN TROUBLED TIMES: SPIRITUAL AND SECULAR DISCOURSES TO INTEGRATE PAROCHIAL AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN NEW ORLEANS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The School of Education by Kristina McKenzie-Hudson B.A., Louisiana State University, 2004 M.A., Louisiana State University, 2009 August 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my parents for always believing that I could accomplish this goal even when I did not. They have supported me in innumerable ways, and I could not have finished this degree without their support, especially my mother who was a great help with my children. They have always stressed the importance of education, and that’s been an invaluable gift. Because my mother was a colonel in the United States Air Force, she instilled discipline and tenacity in my siblings and me. From my father, we got a love of education and the belief that the only limits that existed for us were the limits we set for ourselves. I’d like to thank my heartbeats, my children, for their willingness to sacrifice time with me so I could work. They would say, “Mommy, are you going do your work?” I would reply that I was indeed going to “work,” and they would generally leave me alone to write or read. I completed this for them because I want them to know that with God and perseverance, there’s nothing that they cannot do. Christian, Mackenzie, and Sydney, always believe in yourself. I could not have completed this project without my husband, Brandon. He took an active duty assignment so that we could move our family back to Louisiana for two years so I could be close to LSU. He constantly encouraged me, loved me, gave me time to breathe, and supported me. This would have remained a dream deferred if it wasn’t for him and his support. Thank you to my committee that provided me with support, time, and feedback. Dr. Hendry, your expertise, passion, and brilliance have constantly been a source of inspiration. Dr. Bach, thank you for stepping in to assist me with your suggestions; when you thought something should be changed, you questioned me, allowing me to reach a conclusion on my own. This gave me ownership of my work and caused growth. Dr. Casey, thank you for agreeing to serve on my committee so that I could continue with my dream of graduation. I must thank Dr. David ii Culbert for his role in my scholastic journey-from directing my history M.A. thesis to serving on my committee. He passed away two weeks before my defense, but he left his mark on my project and on my historical studies. I’d also like to thank the Amistad Research Center. When I was nine months pregnant and in no condition to travel to New Orleans, the archivists there listened to me and copied the materials that I needed, so I would not have to make the four hour journey to New Orleans. Also, thank you to the New Orleans Archdiocesan Archives for allowing me to explore their collections and always treating me courteously and respectfully. Thank you to the many priests who emailed me and spoke with me to give me insight on my project. As a Protestant, there were certain things that I did not understand about the Church, and the priests gave me invaluable assistance. Also, thank you to Archbishop A.C. Hughes. He was so kind and allowed me to interview him, despite his incredibly busy schedule. Most importantly, he laid hands on me and asked me if he could bless me, and that blessing has been one of the things that has sustained me. Lastly, I must acknowledge my paternal grandmother, Ida Doyle. She was one of the first women in the St. Tammany Parish School System, if not the first, to earn a Master’s Degree in Education. The state of Louisiana paid for her to attend the University of Wyoming to earn her degree because neither the state nor LSU wanted her at LSU because of her race. We’ve truly come full circle, as her granddaughter graduates from the same department and university that denied her admission for no other reason than the color of her skin. When I converse with my ancestors in my dreams, I thank her for being a visionary and for persevering. Philippians 4:13 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................1 Research Questions ..........................................................................................................................4 A History of Catholicism and Race in Louisiana ............................................................................4 Public Schools and Integration ........................................................................................................8 Parochial Schools and Integration .................................................................................................11 Relevance .......................................................................................................................................19 The History of the Pastoral Letter ..................................................................................................22 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................24 Thematic Analysis Method ................................................................................................26 Chapter Overviews.........................................................................................................................27 Chapter II: The History of the Catholic Church and Constructs of Race: “Remember the Days of Old; Consider the Years of Many Generations” ........................27 Chapter III: A Life History of Archbishop Rummel: “Blessed are the Peacemakers” .....................................................................................................................28 Chapter IV: The Pastoral Letters of Archbishop Rummel: We Who Teach will be Judged with Greater Strictness” .........................................................................................29 Chapter V: Archbishop Rummel’s Spiritual Discourses: “The Tongue of the Wise Commends Knowledge” ...........................................................................................29 Chapter VI: Archbishop Rummel’s Secular Discourses: “I, the Lord, Command you to do What is Just and Right” .....................................................................................30 Chapter VII: Implications for Conducting Educational Histories .....................................31 Key Terms ......................................................................................................................................31 CHAPTER II: THE HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CONSTRUCTS OF RACE: “REMEMBER THE DAYS OF OLD; CONSIDER THE YEARS OF MANY GENERATIONS” ..........................................................................................................................34 Africa, a Cradle of Catholicism .....................................................................................................34 The Protestant Reformation ...........................................................................................................35 Portuguese Missions ......................................................................................................................36 Slavery ...........................................................................................................................................36 Religion of Imposition ...................................................................................................................37 Spanish Missions ...............................................................................................................37 French Catholicism ............................................................................................................40 English Catholicism