5 Things I learned at Call To Action Webinar
Last Monday, Call To Action offered a webinar on “How to be a Catholic Ally in the Era of #BlackLivesMatter.” Our presenters, John Dolan, Megan Graves, and S. Pat Leahy, were exceptional. Their experience, knowledge, and passion came through clearly. While I helped to facilitate, I also learned a lot. Here are just five.
The #BlackLivesMatter movement originated to bring awareness to inter-sectionality (people who embody multiple targets for discrimination). A black, transgender woman is an example of inter-sectionality. I also learned that the average live expectancy of a black, transgender woman is 35 years. Shocking.
“Racism isn’t a question of attitude, it is a question of power.” – Stokely Carmichael. Racism is bigger than want I personally feel or think. It is the invisible lines that keep some people in and others out. Which means, even if internally I attend to my own personal biases, I still have work to do. Anti-racism is bigger than me, it is about systemic change.
While many women religious participated in the Selma March and generally in the civil right movement, Bishop Tooley condemned the march. In fact, it wasn’t until1839 that Supremo Apostalus, a papal bull, condemned slavery and not until 1958 did the Catholic Church denounce slavery. 36 years ago, the Church wrote “Brothers and Sisters to Us.” While the message is good, it is outdated and begs the question, aren’t we all ‘us’?
There are 3 million black Catholics in the US but there are only 250 black priests in 1300 black parishes.
An ally (white, Catholic, or otherwise) is best used as a verb, rather than a noun, because it indicates active participation.
It was a terrific evening with great participation from the participants. We hope you consider joining us for our next webinar, which is on Monday, December 7 - Mary, Mary, & the Other Mary. It is already up on the website and you can register at http://cta-usa.org/webinars/
