Written
by
Ogechi Akalegbere , C hristian S ervice C oordinator
BEING BLACK AND CATHOLIC “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you do not see.” - James Baldwin My very existence lies at the intersection of being Black and Catholic. An intersection that means my heart skips at the sight of an officer while on my way to Mass, or I experience racism right before teaching catechism to middle school students. In this intersection of faith and race, the burdens I carry and offer up to the cross are also related to the color of my skin.
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In recent months, I have been through a roller coaster of emotions. I have experienced fear, despair, anger, hope, doubt...deep doubt and joy. With each news story, each life lost turned into a hashtag, or picture of a woman that could very well be me now a troubling statistic, my emotions grew deeper. It was in that longing that I realized that I do not have Black Catholic peers in my immediate circle. My Catholic circle was more homogeneous than I would like. This revelation shook me. I needed the safety and commonality of others whose existence also laid at the intersection of Black and Catholic. The many years bearing witness to countless Black men and women lost disproportionately at the hands of those who are sworn to protect, seeing devastating statistics of Black female
mortality rates after childbirth, or watching the number of Black individuals who identify as Catholic dwindle over the years were beginning to add up. What does it mean to be Black and Catholic? For me, there is strength and power in embracing both identities. To be Black and Catholic means to add to the rich tapestry of the Catholic faith. In my praise there is an echo of my Nigerian ancestry, in my worship there is a depth that has roots in emotion and honor, and in my oration is the whisper of stories told and untold. To be Black and Catholic is to join the richness of my experiences and being with the graces of the sacraments. Sister Thea Bowman, Servant of God, answers it best in this quote. “What does it mean to be Black and Catholic? It means that I come to my church fully functioning. That doesn’t frighten you, does it? I come to my church fully functioning...I bring my whole history, my tradition, my experience, my culture, my African American song, and dance and gesture and movement and teaching and preaching and healing and responsibility as a gift to the church.” Now, what if that sting came from the church she so loves? There was a time when we were not allowed to even take part in Catholic rituals and sacraments. Serving at the altar or receiving Communion was was either segregated or not allowed. Times when the leaders of the church were on the wrong side of justice when it came to race. Or more recently,
