Chapter 2: African-American Catholic Schools: An Enduring Legacy of Faith, Leadership, and Literacy for Freedom

Today, African-American Catholic churches and their schools, located primarily in poor inner-city neighborhoods, face uncertain futures. In response, African-American Catholic leaders call the Church to renew its evangelical commitment to the education of its African-American Catholic families. Catholic or non-Catholic, education remains indispensable to the religious and cultural identities of African-Americans, let alone the struggle for social justice, literacy, and freedom. As stated well by Franklin: “Historically, and at present, Black Catholic schools have been considered ‘alternatives of excellence’ to Black parents and children in the inner city” (Franklin & McDonald 1988, p. 103).

This chapter reviews research on Black Catholic evangelization and education in the United States and examines the issues that have shaped the enduring legacy of Catholic schooling for African-Americans from precolonial times to the present day. Specifically, it traces the origins of Black Catholics in the United States and situates their development in several historical periods. These periods include the early self-organization of the Catholic community of free Blacks, its emergence during the Civil Rights Movement, the development of a unique Black Catholic Theology, and how America’s inner cities and the erosion of Catholic education paved the way, finally, for renewing the commitment of African-Americans to Black Catholic education.