Matthew J. Cressler - Authentically Black and Truly Catholic: The Rise of Black Catholicism in the Great Migration

Matthew J. Cressler

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS

New York

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS

New York

www.nyupress.org

2017 by New York University

All rights reserved

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ISBN : 978-1-4798-4132-5 (hardback)

ISBN : 978-1-4798-8096-6 (paperback)

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To Mary Dolores Gadpaille, Father George Clements, and all the Black people who made and continue to make Catholic Chicago

And to Mary Ellen, always

This book began, in a very real sense, with gifts. A long time ago my father bought me Cyprian Daviss classic History of Black Catholics, not knowing all of what it was. My mentor gave me a used copy of Lawrence Lucass Black Priest/White Church some years later, introducing me to the story that sparked this project. I could not have imagined where these gifts would lead me.

This book is born of the grace and generosity of the Black Catholic Chicagoans who welcomed me into their homes and invited me to their parishes. Special thanks goes to the women and men who opened their lives to me in interviews (and introduced me to more and more people to talk to): Adrienne Curry, Mary Howard, Delores Williams, Dr. C. Vanessa White, Dr. Sheila Adams, Dr. Kimberly Lymore, Dr. Timone Davis, Cheryl Cattledge, and the parishioners at St. Malachy and Corpus Christi. My research would not have been possible without the willingness of priests and sisters serving in Black parishes to provide access to untapped sources and share their own sense of the citys history. Thank you Fr. Richard Andrus, Fr. Matthew Eyerman, Fr. Robert Miller, Fr. Freddy Washington, Fr. Andrew Smith, Sr. Marita Zeller, Sr. Mary Lou Bigler, and the Sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque, Iowa. Cardinal Francis George spoke with me not long before he passed away, recalling his childhood pilgrimage to Corpus Christis Living Stations of the Cross with his mother. Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory graciously granted me an interview in which he reflected on the Churchs moments of glory and moments of shame when it came to its Black brothers and sisters. Andrew Lyke aided in the beginning and end of my research, first as director of Chicagos Office for Black Catholics and later in sharing stories of his uncle, the late Archbishop James P. Lyke. Sr. Jamie Phelps and Fr. Maurice Nutt have both been far more supportive than I deserve, not only sharing their experiences and expertise in interviews but also inviting me into the Institute for Black Catholic Studies community. Finally, Fr. George Clements. The Black Power protest movement that fought for (and won) his appointment as pastor was the first story I tried to tell. Fr. Clements met me for multiple interviews, patiently put up with numerous phone calls, and always did so with an encouraging smile and a kind word. Thank you for your lifes work, which continues to inspire everyone you encounter. This book is but one of the many stories that can, that must be told of Black Catholics. It is dedicated to them. Thank you all.

My research would have gone nowhere if not for the tireless efforts of several archivists. Many thanks go to Lesley Martin at the Chicago History Museum Research Center; Julie Satzik and Meg Hall at the Archdiocese of Chicago Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Archives and Records Center; Sr. Veronica Bagenstos and Sr. Maxine Lavell at the Celano Archives of the Sisters of St. Francis; Marcia Stein and Peter Gunther at the Robert Meyers Archives, Chicago Province of Society of the Divine Word; Denise Thuston at the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart Archives; and Dr. Stephanie Morris at the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Archives.

A number of different institutions, organizations, and intellectual communities have sustained my research over the past six years. I am grateful for the financial support of Northwestern Universitys Graduate School, the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities (Northwestern), the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism (Notre Dame), the American Catholic Historical Association, and the College of Charlestons School of Humanities and Social Sciences Deans Fund. The feedback Ive received from audience members, panel participants, and workshop attendees helped refine my argument time and time again. Many thanks to Northwesterns Department of Religious Studies, the Lived History of Vatican II conference, Princeton Universitys American Religious History Workshop, the Institute for Black Catholic Studies (Xavier University of Louisiana), the American Historical Association, and the American Academy of Religion for creating spaces to present my work and receive invaluable insight. Shannen Dee Williams and Fr. Bryan Massingale both aided and encouraged me at the start of my research. No group was more instrumental in the early stages of this project than Northwesterns North American Religions Workshop. They carefully read everything I wrote and always matched criticism with compassion (and a healthy dose of wine). Thank you Amanda Baugh, Hayley Glaholt, Monica Mercado, Chris Cantwell, Kate Dugan, Jennifer Callaghan, Stephanie Brehm, Ariel Schwartz, and all my fellow NARWinians. A special shout out goes to Northwesterns Interfaith Initiative, the student group that hosted my very first presentation of this research in what feels like a lifetime ago. I have also been blessed with brilliant and kind colleagues, first at Earlham College and now at the College of Charleston. Earlhams Midnight Manuscripts writers workshop was clutch. Three consecutive CofC Writers Retreats (along with the M&Ms they provided) were essential to the completion of my manuscript. And I never would have finished if not for the caffeine and relative quiet provided by Black Tap, the Malvern Buttery, the Brothers K, and Kudu.

I was privileged to have a number of people willing to read numerous iterations of my manuscript as it moved toward completion. Sarah McFarland Taylor was never short of enthusiasm for my work. Martha Biondi connected (and continues to connect) me to the living history of Black Chicago and honed my understanding of the particular way Black Catholics took up Black Power. My external reviewers made my final manuscript immeasurably better. They truly got what I was trying to do, sometimes better than I did myself. Thank you M. Shawn Copeland, Judith Weisenfeld, Curtis Evans, and Kristy Nabhan-Warren. Your feedback clarified my argument and pushed me to write with much more precision. Sylvester Johnson has a knack for naming the most poignant points in my argument and encouraging me to be bolder in making them. Thank you for never ceasing to empower me. My first halting step toward what became my main argument occurred over a conference coffee with Wallace Best. Thank you for thinking with me all these years, for helping me find my own authorial voice, and for the warmth of your friendship. And Robert Orsi, what can I say? You spent countless hours combing each page I wrote at every stage of the process. You were generous with your time and incisive with your insights. You model how scholarship and teaching can be an art, and how we can do both without losing sight of the humanity of everyone were in relationship with. Thank you.