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.
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Utilizing this three-step process of awareness, analysis, and action, Catholic schools at all levels of instruction can teach students to “do justice” and transform the world.
Case Study #4
Students from a Catholic high school in Washington, D.C., volunteer to work each day after school for a semester in a downtown soup kitchen where over 400 people are fed daily. The students clean, cook, serve food, and spend time talking or playing cards with the diners. These simple activities not only provide physical assistance to those in need, but also help to restore their sense of human dignity and self-esteem.
Students from a Catholic college in Cleveland, Ohio, volunteer to visit an AIDS hospice twice a week. They read to the sick, write letters for them, and spend time with them.
A group of students from Franciscan University of Steubenville works with the American Civil Liberties Union to bring about an end to capital punishment in the state of Ohio.
The students helping in a soup kitchen and visiting the AIDS hospice are demonstrating direct action or charity, while the students' efforts to abolish the death penalty are an example of social action.
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Many Catholic school students are involved in social justice. Two examples follow:
- In Los Angeles, high school seniors take discarded clothing to a
thrift store at which the poor can receive clothing without cost.
- In a Catholic high school in southern California, each student must
perform 100 hours of Christian service as a graduation requirement.
The service can be in any nonprofit facility or venue from which they
receive no pay for their service.
By pursuing social justice, students come to understand that being a follower of Christ requires more than prayer and church attendance; it also demands that we love God by serving our neighbors, the poor, and the weak. In the Gospels, Jesus clearly states that love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable, and that our love for God is best demonstrated by our love for our neighbor. Thus, social justice and the commandment to love God and neighbor are irrevocably linked.
The inclusion of Christian service and social justice in a curriculum teaches students the meaning of Christian love and solidarity, and most importantly, gives them opportunities to live that love and solidarity in active service. An emphasis on social justice helps students to understand that we all are children of God, members of the human family, regardless of our racial, ethnic, social, or economic background. As a family and a community of faith, we are responsible for each other, just as biologically related family members love and care for one another.
Thus, to be authentically Catholic, all Catholic school curricula must include social justice teaching and action. In addition to preparing students for Christian living, social justice programs can contribute to global diversity by teaching solidarity.
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