In fiction and nonfiction by Black American Catholics, the parochial school looms large as a place of education, formation, and conversion—for good or ill.
“Mr. Wycliff, the bishop says that the Catholic schools are for all Catholic children,” the priest said. “Your children will be welcome in our school.”
Daryl Russell Grigsby’s book, grounded in a tradition of Black social justice Catholicism, brings to life the stories of those who try to make of the world a garden.
"Like many others, I remember exactly where I was when the verdict came down in 1995. I was in Commonweal’s offices on Dutch Street in lower Manhattan."
On this episode, journalist Benjamin Herold unpacks the transformative boom-and-bust cycles and rapid demographic shifts that now define American suburbs.
For those of us who have a visceral objection to Confederate Memorial Day, how should we engage a worldview that embraces the mythology of the Lost Cause?
The mangling of American history has served to reinforce racism at the most fundamental level: through the stories and ideas we have passed on to our children.
It’s no secret that racism is pervasive in the Church. The fight for Black Catholic education and vocations in the 1960s and 1970s showcases one striking example.