Adding Black Catholic History strengthens curriculum

One of the unique opportunities Catholic schools have that others don’t is to draw on our rich faith tradition to shape the school environment, decision-making and curriculum. We often say that our faith allows us to teach and care for the whole child, especially each child’s relationship with God and our responsibilities to recognize God in one another and treat each other accordingly.

One current example is South Jersey Catholic Schools’ response to the 2018 Pastoral Letter, “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call of Love,” from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In their letter, the bishops address the threat of racism in the United States: “We must create opportunities to hear, with open hearts, the tragic stories that are deeply imprinted on the lives of our brothers and sisters, if we are to be moved with empathy to promote justice. Many groups, such as the Irish, Italians, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Poles, Jews, Chinese and Japanese, can attest to having been the target of racial and ethnic prejudice in this country. It is also true that many groups are still experiencing prejudice, including rising anti-Semitism, the discrimination many Hispanics face today and anti-Muslim sentiment. Especially instructive at this moment … are the historical and contemporary experience of Native and African Americans.” Specifically, the pastoral letter directs Catholic educators to develop curricula relating to racism.

While there are many organizations that provide materials to schools in this area, there are few that specifically build on Catholic teachings and the foundation of a Catholic education. Fortunately, our search for such materials led us to Black Catholic History, an organization that develops age-appropriate classroom materials that share the history of Black Catholics.

The materials cover everything from Catholicism in Africa from the early centuries of the Church to present-day African-American candidates for sainthood in the United States. Materials from Black Catholic History assist teachers in helping students recognize the important role and contributions that people of color have always played in the history of our Church, which have not always been included as fully as they should be. For example, there are numerous Catholic saints of African descent – Saint Augustine, Saint Benedict the Moor, Saint Martin de Porres, among others, but Catholic school curriculum does not always identify these saints as Black Catholics.

Sister Alicia Perna, SSJ, principal in Saint Cecilia School, Pennsauken, looks forward to using Black Catholic History: “I am happy to be able to incorporate the program into our curriculum this year, so that Black Catholics can be recognized for their contributions to our faith. The program is also important because our children of color need to see saints and prophets that look like them, and all of our children need to see that good role models come in all shapes, sizes and colors.”

This September, many elementary schools in our Diocese will integrate these materials in social studies, religion and language arts lesson plans for grades PK-8. We join Catholic schools around the country in using this approach.

Kaye Crawford, founder of Black Catholic History, says that “Catholic schools have a power that no other teaching institution possesses to bring about racial peace and justice. The power comes from our identity, our mission and our Church history. Teaching this history reinforces the universality of the Catholic Church and puts Catholic social teaching into action.”

The introduction of Black Catholic History is only one way that Catholic schools teach students about the dignity, contributions and capabilities of all people – throughout history and today. We continue to explore opportunities to ensure that our curriculum includes the experiences and histories of many cultures. Responding to “Open Wide Our Hearts” in this way helps us to strengthen our schools through rigorous academics as we prepare students to be disciples of Christ in this world and the next.

Dr. Robert Lockwood is director of Curriculum and Assessment for South Jersey Catholic Schools.