St. Augustine was an African man. For many years, I didn’t appreciate the magnitude of this because his African identity was usually muted in favor of describing him as a North African citizen of the Roman Empire with a distinct emphasis on “North” and “Empire.” Currently, the United States Census classifies individuals of Middle East […] The post Augustine’s African heritage matters appeared first on U.S. Catholic ..read more

When remembering the revolutionary period in American history known as the civil rights movement—a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign that set out to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United States and lasted from 1954 to 1968—several key figures come to mind. Perhaps it is Thurgood Marshall and his […] The post The faith of Black Catholics inspired their activism appeared first on U.S. Catholic ..read more

When Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during the January 2 Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, it felt like watching a nightmare. I could vividly imagine the fear and anxiety that must have been present for everyone who knew and cared for him. And I did the only thing […] The post Stop policing Black religious expression appeared first on U.S. Catholic ..read more

“Can the church we love, love us back?” asks Ansel Augustine in the subtitle to his new book, Leveling the Praying Field. Despite document after document on the sin of racism, there have been no substantive changes to the problem of racial inequity within the U.S. Catholic Church. No attempts to shift the balance of […] The post Despite centuries of injustice, the church is worth fighting for appeared first on U.S. Catholic ..read more

Listen on: Apple | Google | Spotify When we talk about the global history of Catholicism, we may be tempted to portray the church as the unequivocal moral hero in every story. But our factual history is far more complicated than hagiographies and triumphalist narratives would have us believe. Different people at different times have […] The post Glad You Asked: Who were the first Black Catholics in the United States? appeared first on U.S. Catholic ..read more

“What does it mean to be Black and Catholic?” asked Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Thea Bowman. “It means that I come to my church fully functioning. . . . I bring myself, my Black self, all that I am, all that I have, all that I hope to become.” Sister Thea Bowman is one […] The post Are there any Black saints from the United States? appeared first on U.S. Catholic ..read more

“I remember when . . .” When I was a child, my grandmother began each story with these words. Her stories about the past taught me lessons for my own life. Now, as an adult, I often meditate on my grandmother’s tales, not because of sentimental nostalgia but because memory is a bridge that allows me […] The post The legend of the flying Africans shows hope for liberation appeared first on U.S. Catholic ..read more

Editors’ note: This interview originally appeared in our March 1983 issue. In this interview with U.S. Catholic staff, Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Teresita Weind speaks about her experience working in the Cabrini Green housing projects in Chicago, the alienation of many black Catholics from the broader church, and the need for better education […] The post Racism: Will we ever overcome? appeared first on U.S. Catholic ..read more

No Crystal Stair: Womanist Spirituality By Diana L. Hayes (Orbis Books, 2016) Diana Hayes’ new book is a compilation of essays, prayers, and reflections written throughout her long career as one of the church’s most preeminent Black female theologians. Borrowing the title from Langston Hughes’ poem “Mother and Son,” Hayes paints a vivid picture of […] The post Diana Hayes on Black women of God appeared first on U.S. Catholic ..read more

The past two years have been exceptional years of human existence. Here in the United States, while we were trying to survive and resolve a world pandemic, many Americans engaged in fervent protests against police brutality and the murder of Black Americans. The movement spread to distant shores, where citizens around the world demonstrated support […] The post Happy birthday, Haiti—the mother of Black Lives Matter appeared first on U.S. Catholic ..read more