Faith Formation on Racial Equity and Justice Scheduled

Friday, Aug. 14, 2020

Like many institutions, the Catholic Church in America has failed to educate our adherents on the full history of race relations in our country. Yes, at school we may have learned about slavery and the Civil War (though decades of students were taught the war wasn’t about slavery) and may have even heard about Jim Crow laws. But few history curricula anywhere in Utah give ample time and discussion of the “Great Migration” of Black men and women out of the South and across the nation for decades.  Nor do those curricula delve in any meaningful way into the experiences of those migrants in areas beyond the South. The quick version – in many ways, the North and West were not much more welcoming  than the South, and the practices and policies adopted from our founding as a nation through the Great Migration continue to impact the basic rights of Black Americans to this day.

Knowing our history is an important step in addressing the inequalities that are so deeply embedded in our public, private and religious institutions. Many an individual has responded to the stories of prejudice from Black individuals with stories of discrimination faced by their migrating ancestors. Yes, America has a long and troubled history with its migrants. But few Irish or Italian or German or other Americans with European origins can claim they are still being denied voting rights based on their ethnicity. Few of those European-Americans can claim they are still denied access to housing or employment because they are of European ancestry. And none can claim their ancestors were enslaved, no matter how unfair the labor practices applied to their early progenitors.

We must also remember that the ancestors of many Black Americans did not choose migration, they were sold into it. Let me repeat the important part of that phrase – they were sold. Sold. The practice of buying and selling people has left a stain on our nation that will remain vivid for so long as we continue to tolerate high levels of poverty in Black communities, as long as Flint, Mich. continues to grapple with tainted water, as long as Black men continue to be imprisoned for crimes for which their white counterparts are placed on probation. We cannot polish away our tarnished history of treating Black men, women and children as little more than commodities to be bought and sold until every American sincerely believes, and our policies or practices reflect the belief, that Black lives matter just as much as every other life. 

The Diocese of Salt Lake City, through the Office of Life, Justice and Peace, offers one small step toward correcting our educational lapses. We are offering a three-part faith formation series through video conference on racial equity and justice. The first eight-week session begins Sept. 17 and will introduce a framework for understanding and recognizing racial disparities by looking at power and privilege and how they contribute to racial injustice. It will also take a deeper dive into specific issues related to power and privilege, including affirmative action, lack of equal access to educational opportunities, disparities within the criminal justice system, and powerful biases in media representation. Participants will explore how their faith should inform their response to their learning, as well as discern action steps for working toward racial equity in their own communities. 

Registration is limited to the first 15 people and closes Aug. 28. Sessions will run every Thursday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 17 through Nov. 12. Register at https://www.dioslc.org/about-us/diocese-calendar/respect-life/127-faith-and-racial-equity-exploring-power-and-privilege.  

For those who are not able to attend the sessions, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers a starting point for personal conversion in its pastoral letter “Open Wide Our Hearts” and supplemental study guide. Both can be accessed at https://www.usccb.org/committees/ad-hoc-committee-against-racism.