S R . T H E A B O W M A N , FSPA: F RANCISCAN , T ROUBADOUR , P ROPHET , P OET Victoria Marie, OSC Franciscan Institute, Saint Bonaventure University I NTRODUCTION One cannot improve on, “Sr. Thea Bowman, singer, dancer liturgist, educator, evangelist, prophet 1 ,” as an introduction to the woman who is the subject of this paper. Thea, nee Bertha, Bowman, was a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, an African American who did not allow the obstacles of racism in society or the church to silence her voice. Nor did she permit racism to quell her dedication to her vocation or diminish her love for her God, her people, or her church. In looking at her life and her words it appears that in Thea, Francis’ mandate to “rebuild my church” was born anew and coupled with an aspect of Clare that I found most inspiring, her dedication to her chosen path. One other aspect of Clare, on which I did not elaborate when studying Clare herself, was Sr. Bowman’s ability to joyfully and courageously endure the pain caused by her living with cancer. Thea strove to show that just as segregation and second class citizenship in a secular society diminished that society as a whole by depriving it of the gifts African Americans and others had to offer, so too did the church diminish itself. A segregated church cannot be considered truly catholic. One of the aims of this paper was to show the reader what led Thea to change her work from teacher or Professor of English to activism on behalf of her people. However, as I progressed in researching this paper, I found that Thea had not so much changed her work, teaching, as expanded the subject she taught. She broadened teaching English Language and Literature to include the existential reality of Black people through sharing the cultural heritage of African Americans. It may appear to some that Thea Bowman changed careers but for Thea is was a logical progression, I decided to become fully functioning. Before, I would say, “Teach me. I want to learn.” But now, I want to learn, I want to keep on learning until I die, but I also want to teach 2 . Thea wanted to share the gifts that she had by teaching not just the curriculum of mainstream America and the Church, but the heritage and gifts of the African American people. Notes to all works cited follow immediately after the bibliography. My aim is to promote understanding and appreciation of the variety of cultures in our land, like that of the Native Americans, black culture, and various national cultures. I do it through sharing of prayer, poetry, music and storytelling. I also try to help people to be proud of their own culture and to appreciate other groups through sharing and dialogue (p. 8) 3 . Thea, like many Black Catholics, realized that the dissemination of knowledge was totally Eurocentric, we knew a lot about Euro-Americans but they knew nothing about us. It was time for a change. However, a brief biographical sketch is presented, before delving into Thea’s life work which was one expression of her understanding of the Franciscan charism: (St.) Francis said that all his followers needed were to be minstrels and troubadours going about the countryside, teaching the good news, singing and praising. Somebody like me, a teacher of English language and literature, was made to be a minstrel and troubadour (p. 7) 4 . This scope of this paper is that of an introduction to the dynamics involved in Sr. Thea Bowman’s life and contributions as a Franciscan and as an American of African heritage. The pervasiveness of racism in the United States makes it impossible to render an account that does not take this into consideration. Racism’s insidious tentacles reach into areas that are not readily apparent, for it is imbedded in all institutions, secular and religious. It affects the way the Franciscan charism is lived and interpreted, yet Thea managed to transcend racism and its affects. However, with the time and space allotted for this project, a comprehensive exploration of the effects these factors in Thea Bowman’s life and work is not possible. B ACKGROUND AND E ARLY Y EARS There are no birth records for Thea’s grandparents, paternal or maternal. Her maternal grandparents, Lizzie W. and Jerry Coleman, must have settled in Greenville, Mississippi because that is where her mother, Mary Esther was born on November 25, 1902 5 . Lizzie Coleman held the position of public school principal for forty-seven years 6 . Thea’s paternal grandfather, Edward Bowman was a former slave who later worked at the Memphis Power and Light Company. Thea’s grandmother, Sallie Elizabeth Bowman was a seamstress 7 . Thea’s father, Theon Edward Bowman was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi on September 13, 1894. Her grandmothers and paternal grandfather were Methodists 8 . There was no school for Black children in Yazoo City. Hence, her grandfather moved to Tennessee when Theon Bowman was six years old. Her father studied medicine and in 1918, did an internship in New York. At the request of his aunt who had helped him through school and over the objection of his mother, Theon Bowman, set up his practice in Canton, Mississippi. His aunt made him aware that there was no doctor for Black people in Canton 9 . Understandably, his mother wished him to stay up north where his chances of success, free of the constraints of the south, were better. Theon Bowman decided to go where he was most needed. - 2 - Victoria Marie, OSC January 1999 Thea was born Bertha Bowman on December 29, 1937 in Yazoo City. She states that her earliest memories of her father are “getting up at a ridiculous time and coming home late 10 ” Dr. Theo[n] Bowman was a hard-working man, and his wife worked with him. Office hours frequently began at dawn, said [Thea]. “People had to come to see the doctor either before they went to work — and they would start work at 5, 5:30 — or after work, 8 or 9 at night,” said Bowman. “And my daddy would sometimes be paid in greens, or someone would work on his car. Once he got half a lamb 11 . Thea states that her mother was “sweet and cultured”. Mary Ester Bowman taught Thea not to return insult for insult or hate for hate but: to pray for people who insult and hate; to refer to them with respect; and, to understand that somehow they need help. Her mother advised her, “You know they crucified my Lord and he never said a mumblin’ word. 12 ” Canton in her childhood, for all the poverty, was a world of song. The women sang as they worked. “We were disciplined by songs, praised by songs, told stories by song. 13 ” Thea referred to herself as “an old folks’ child” because in this world of song she learned the history, traditions, and wisdom of the elders. I was reared as “an old folks’ child” in a black community of faith. The elders tried to teach us everyone has a responsibility to the community. The old folks used to say “Each one teach one.” If you know how to cook, you teach somebody; if you know how to raise a child, you teach somebody; if you know how to get a job, you teach somebody; if you know how to dress yourself, pass that on. To be responsible is to know your best and to give your best. Don’t ask for money in exchange for sharing your gifts. You help me and I help you 14 (p. 20). From these early seeds, she later allows to blossom priceless gifts shared with her students, friends, the Church, and the wider society. When Bertha (Thea) was nine years old, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA) came to teach at Holy Child Jesus School which was opened in an old army barracks 15 . Bertha was curious about these Catholics who had come to town. She wanted to see these people who, the townspeople said, “were praying to statues” and “speaking in foreign tongues.” 16 Bertha’s parents, however, were interested in the new school for other reasons. They were not satisfied with the quality of education given at the public school. Bertha was enrolled in Holy Child Jesus School. She fervently desired to become a Catholic and was baptized in Holy Child Jesus Mission in 1947 and was confirmed in 1948. At the age of twelve, she announced that she wanted to become a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration and entered the pre-novitiate at the age of fifteen in 1953. Bertha’s road was not easy. She was the first and only Black member of the community. As one source in her video autobiography suggested, when Thea arrived in La Crosse, Wisconsin where the motherhouse of the FSPA is located, she found it “cold and white 17 .” Bertha states, “I missed the song, I missed the vitality of the people 18 .” She encountered both kinds of racism at - 3 - Victoria Marie, OSC January 1999 La Crosse, overt racism and the racism displayed in ignorance. Bertha was determined to bear whatever she had suffer to reach her goal. She endured community members discussions of “nigger toes” and “nigger heaven”. Sisters assuring her that they liked her “even though” she was Black. All through this Bertha never lost sight of her dream —answering God’s invitation. She states, I wanted to do whatever I had to do to be a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration.