Sustaining Catholic Education in and for the Black Community
By Lois J. Carson, Sr. Roberta Fulton, S.S.M.N., Dorothy Gupton, Veronica Morgan-Lee, Freida D. McCray, Mary Crowley McDonald, Kathleen A. Merritt, Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, O.P., Ph.D., Brother Gary Sawyer, ECSA, Deacon Marvin Threatt, PhD.
(Article: Page 1 of 35)
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Preface
This book is the result of an initiative of the National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) Leadership Commission on Catholic Education: to empower Black Catholics to reclaim Catholic schools and institutions of higher learning.
The NBCC Commission on Catholic Education focuses on improving the experience of the Black student throughout elementary, secondary, and higher education. We are inclusive of all Catholic Institutions and we share the vision of Black Catholic education at the heart of the Church, evangelizing a socially just Church.
This ongoing initiative is sponsored through the generosity of the National Black Catholic Congress under the leadership of its Executive Director, Ms. Valerie Washington. The project is guided by a team of scholars who collaborate in a system of intellectual and spiritually directed tasks. We are most grateful for the support and encouragement given by Bishop John Huston Ricard, S.S.J., chairman of the Board of Trustees for the National Black Catholic Congress.
Introduction
A central question guided the writing of this book: What is to become of Catholic Schools in our African American communities? Clearly, the preservation and enhancement of Catholic education in the Black community is no easy task. However, it is our responsibility to ensure that these institutions flourish for years to come.
In their first pastoral letter in 1984, What We Have Seen and Heard, the Black Bishops of the United States recognized Catholic education as a vital evangelization tool that brings thousands into contact with the faith and into the Church. Catholic education is a primary means by which the Church answers the Gospel injunction to teach all people (cf. Mt 28:19). The Catholic school has been and remains one of the chief vehicles of evangelization within the Black community.
In this pastoral letter, the Bishops spoke of the challenges, sacrifices, and extra toil that families assume to enable their children to receive an education, for Black people believe that the key to a better life is the school. The Bishops further explained that the Catholic school represents both an opportunity for a quality education and a sign of stability in an often turbulent environment.
While acknowledging the economic challenges that confront schools, the bishops stated that cost effectiveness can never be the sole criterion for decisions regarding the continuation of Catholic education in the Black community. Catholic schools in Black neighborhoods should be the concern of the entire community, not solely those who are Catholic. The excellence, scholarship, and continued growth of these schools should be a constant concern for all Catholics.
In the document, Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium (USCCB, 2005), the bishops affirmed their conviction that Catholic elementary and secondary schools are of great value to our Church and our nation. Catholic schools are the Church's most effective contribution to families who are poor and disadvantaged, particularly in inner city neighborhoods and rural areas. Therefore, wherever possible, Catholic schools should remain available and accessible for Catholic and non-Catholic children from poor and middle-class families who face major economic challenges. This outreach must continue in the new millennium.
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