Chapter 3: Forgotten or Simply Ignored: A Historiography of African Americans and Catholic Education

According to Darlene Eleanor York, relatively little is known about Catholic schools and the education of minority students within those schools as compared to immigrant communities and fights over public educational funds. Although Catholic religious communities have educated African American children since the 1800s, their efforts have been either “forgotten or ignored” by both historians of African American and Catholic education. York attributes this paucity of information to non-interested non-Catholic researchers interested in education. But other factors are also at play. Records on Catholic schools are held in Catholic archives, and the diocesan chancery and/or archivists determine what information researchers can access and utilize.² With the exception of sacramental records documenting Catholic baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths within Catholic Church parishes, Catholic records are typically closed to the public. Since the history surrounding African Americans and their education is fraught with racial intolerance, many archives consider their existing material evidence concerning Black Catholic schools sensitive and refuse access or usage. Consequently, researchers are left to “piece together” remaining evidence in the form of former students’ personal collections and/or oral interviews.³ These limited forms of evidence, combined with the obstacles related to researching them can be off-putting and time-consuming. As a result, a more comprehensive knowledge of African Americans in Catholic schools remain elusive as few historians—Catholic or not—attempt to research the topic.