In 1990, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus chose November to observe as Black Catholic History Month. This designation marks November as a time to honor the cultural heritage and contributions of Black Catholics to the Church and society. It is a time to celebrate the “gift of Blackness” to the Church, as Pope Paul VI put it when he visited Kampala, Uganda in 1969. The choice of November for this observance coincides with feasts of special significance to Black Catholics, such as All Saints, All Souls and the feast day of St. Martin de Porres.
Ohio Dominican University (ODU) began its observance of Black Catholic History Month in earnest in 2024 with our first annual Black Catholic History Month lecture, given by Dr. Cecilia Moore, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Dayton and renowned scholar of U.S. Catholic history. Dr. Moore shared with the ODU community the history and significance of a statue that adorns its own campus: “Come Unto Me,” a striking image of Christ cast in 1945 by Black Catholic artist Richmond Barthé. Dr. Moore’s lecture gave ODU a deeper appreciation of the campus’ own connections to the movement in the mid-20th century that sought to celebrate and promote the richness of Black culture and aesthetics in the sacred spaces of our Catholic tradition. In Barthé, she introduced us to one of many hidden but compelling figures in American Catholic history. As a result of Dr. Moore’s lecture, the statue was moved by the Dominican Sisters of Peace from its former location, which had become somewhat overgrown by surrounding trees, to a prominent location in front of their Motherhouse.
This year’s lecture was given at Ohio Dominican on Nov. 5 by Dr. Joseph Flipper, Mary Ann Spearin Chair of Theology at the University of Dayton. Dr. Flipper shared research conducted for a forthcoming book on the Black Catholic movement in a presentation entitled “Vatican II, the Black Catholic Movement, and the Struggle for the African American Ordinariate.” Dr. Flipper reviewed some of the key teachings of the Second Vatican Council (1963-1965), underscoring its desire for a flourishing local Church with its own indigenous clergy and sense of self-determination. He then linked these teachings not too far away places we might call “mission territory” but to the struggle of African American Catholics here in the United States.
Whereas Dr. Moore in 2024 focused on aesthetic contributions to the Black Catholic Movement, Dr. Flipper taught us about the intentional efforts of Black Catholics, beginning in the 1960s, to develop and direct their own educational, catechetical and ecclesial structures within the Church. Why was this needed? In the 19th and 20th centuries, there were more than 500 missions and churches exclusively serving Black Catholics in the U.S., but these were mostly directed by White missionary order priests and religious, as well as diocesan clergy. We know today that representation matters; if you can see it, you can be it. Vatican officials took this view, encouraging the development of an indigenous clergy in the U.S., including Black men for the priesthood. However, during this period, most Black men and many would-be Black women religious in the U.S. were turned away from their vocations due to deeply entrenched racism. Thus, the Black children at these many Catholic schools and parishes had few to no examples of priests and religious of their own race to emulate. The effect of this early failure to establish an indigenous clergy lingers today in the scarcity of Black priests, bishops and religious from the United States.
To prevent such tragedies from continuing to hamper the growth and flourishing of Black Catholicism in the U.S., this institutional arm of the Black Catholic Movement sought to establish ecclesial autonomy and self-determination for the Black Catholic community. To concretize these efforts toward ecclesial self-determination without advocating separation from the Church (as some certainly did), Dr. Flipper detailed the ultimately unsuccessful efforts in the late 1960s and early 1970s to develop a Black Catholic ordinariate, or special independent ecclesial jurisdiction headed by an “ordinary” or bishop. (An example of such an ordinariate that functions today is the one that governs Catholics in the United States military as its own “umbrella” Archdiocese.) Dr. Flipper did not speculate on why this effort failed but argued that, given the present-day closure of many Black Catholic parishes in diocesan restructuring and the continued dearth of African American vocations to priesthood and religious life, the question of establishing a Black Catholic ordinariate should be re-examined as a means for Black Catholics to both remain true to the Catholic tradition while achieving a genuine sense of self-determination, without which the tradition cannot thrive.
Dr. Flipper’s lecture was an effective example of the point of these “special observance” months like Black Catholic History Month. They afford us the opportunity to reflect on complex truths about the past that deeply impact our present realities — and help us chart a course for the future.
In that same vein, Ohio Dominican’s final event for this year’s Black Catholic History Month will explore the life and legacy of a young Black man in the 1950s who beat the odds, becoming the first African American ordained for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati: Father Clarence Rivers. Rivers went on to compose some of the first English-language music widely sung in Catholic liturgy. A lover of the Latin Mass from his childhood, Fr. Rivers’ compositions combined the solemn reverence of plainchant with the gravitas and beauty of the Spirituals. On Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Griffin Student Center, Eric T. Styles, a seminarian with the Josephite order, and Emily Strand, ODU’s Director of Campus Ministry, will discuss their efforts to practice “Sankofa,” a West African concept that encourages reaching for truths of the past as we move into the future, through their podcast, Meet Father Rivers. In the podcast, Strand and Styles introduce a new generation to their friend and mentor, Father Rivers, whose long, illustrious career helped foster active participation in liturgy by Catholics of all colors. Strand and Styles will share pastoral lessons they learned from Father Rivers along their journey with him, both before his death in 2004, and afterward as they conducted interviews with those who knew and worked with Rivers. They will share hopeful, helpful and often humorous stories about Father Rivers from four years of creating their podcast.
The night before this event, on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in Christ the King Chapel (Sansbury Hall), Ohio Dominican will also celebrate its annual Gospel Mass for Black Catholic History Month. The public is welcome to join in prayer the ODU community as we celebrate with Vernon Hairston and the St. Dominic/Holy Rosary/St. John choir as our special musical guests, and Deacon Royce Winters of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati as guest homilist.
All are invited to join us as we practice “Sankofa”: reaching back for the truths of the past to chart a sure course for the future of this beautiful and holy tradition that is Black Catholicism.
Emily Strand is Director of Campus Ministry and Liturgical Music and adjunct faculty in Humanities at Ohio Dominican University. She is also a lector, cantor, accompanist, ensemble director and catechist at her parish, Immaculate Conception in Columbus. With Eric T. Styles, she hosts the podcast Meet Father Rivers.