Posted on 03/01/2020 5:11:37 AM PST by Kaslin
In 1918, a popular song with the America’s World War I troops had these lyrics:
“No matter their color, their race or creed, for every Yankee’s welfare, the K of C takes heed.”
You read that right. Five decades before the Civil Rights movement, the organization mentioned in the song was the only charitable organization in World War I to offer integrated facilities to troops – something it did decades before the military itself was integrated.
And when the Navy and Marine Corps themselves integrated in the late 1940s, it was a project led and championed by a former CEO of this organization.
The “K of C” stood for Knights of Columbus, and what they did a century ago on the issue of race was decades ahead of its time.
I was quite taken with these stories, detailed in a new book The Knights of Columbus: An Illustrated History being released next month. Anyone interested in the intersection of faith, freedom and racial equality in the United States should read this book. It tells the incredible and multi-faceted story of an organization that has helped shape history through action and advocacy for those in financial need and those suffering discrimination or persecution on account of race, creed, or color.
As we end Black History month, it’s worth remembering that the Knights’ efforts.
These efforts didn’t begin and end with World War I, they started in the 1890s, when the Knights were already admitting African American members. The first known African American member of the Knights joined in 1895 and held a leadership position in his local council. At the same time, the Knights were not shy about overtly advocating for equal citizenship regardless of race, color or creed.
And after the “Great War,” the K of C work continued as the group provided job training and education for veterans – both black and white.
In the 1920s, the Knights stepped up again for African Americans – in a big way. Seeing that many groups were being overlooked by American history books, the Knights set out to change that and make sure the stories of Catholics, African Americans and Jews were told.
Specifically, the Knights hired W.E.B. DuBois to write The Gift of Black Folk, which explored the contributions of African Americans to United States history. The book is a classic, and it was published by the Knights of Columbus during a time when many religious institutions were still segregated.
Underlying the Knights efforts was a simple fact. The Knights believed that America’s promise of equal rights should apply to everyone – black or white, Catholic or non-Catholic.
This meant the Knights would lead the charge against the Ku Klux Klan when the Klan tried to outlaw Catholic education in the state of Oregon. Funding the challenge taken to the Supreme Court, the Knights-funded plaintiff’s (the Society of Sisters) prevailed, and Catholic education was persevered.
When governments persecuted Christians in the Middle East in the early 1920s, and Catholics in Mexico in the later 1920s, the Knights were there to assist those persecuted and advocate for them
When the Nazis began persecuting Jews – and others – the Knights spoke up again. They spoke up also against human rights abuses by the Soviet bloc before and during the Cold War, and of course, their work for persecuted Christians in the Middle East today is legendary.
Where faith and freedom have been threatened, the Knights have been there to help. Ahead of its time on racial and religious freedom issues – not to mention a global force for charity – the Knights of Columbus is an organization is one Americans who value our country’s freedoms should get to know, and The Knights of Columbus: An Illustrated History is the perfect introduction.
Despite decades of outreach, the Church in the US has made little inroads in attracting black converts.
There are many Black Catholics in traditionally Catholic cities like Baltimore and New Orleans. The Catholic Church’s teaching and practice as to racial equality are based on fundamental principles, not on a desire to attract converts.
In my area (around Newark NJ) the only growth in the Church with blacks are Catholic groups coming here (Nigerian Igbos, Haitians); there are few American black Catholics here despite a lot of outreach.
One of the most famous black Roman Catholics was heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Patterson, who converted to Catholicism in his youth and was active in the church his whole life.
Kobe Bryant as well.
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Interesting that the animus between Catholics and Freemasons was not mentioned as the driving force for instantiating the K of C to counter the Fremason’s message of brotherhood and more ‘inclusive’ religions. It was the Freemasons from both sides who met in the Civil War battlefields to care for the injured and dead, not the KC.
The Knights of Columbus was founded Feb 6, 1882.
Find a better reason to knock a force for good in the world.
When I moved to Indiana I was surprised at the number of black Catholics. I found out that it was because of the large KKK influence here a hundred years ago. Catholics and blacks were common enemies.
Any welcome and attraction by American Blacks to the universalism of Catholicism is commonly trumped by the desire to express Black identity and be in the company of friends, neighbors, and family. In some Catholic dioceses there are priests and services adapted to the idioms of the American Black religious traditions. Think big choirs, lots of hymn singing, and energetic sermons -- just like in an AME church.
In response, the Klan threatened the local priests and warned that they would burn down the convent across from the elementary school. Nothing came of it, likely because men of the parish watched over the convent and school with shotguns at the ready.
I’m familiar with a parish like that; it is a prime example of failed outreach.
I believe the issue more in NJ is that we had no historically black populations to begin with; much of the Catholic migration here was after slavery ended, and until the 1960s there was no large-scale migration of blacks to the area (and those were primarily Protestant groups).
And may I add that despite this and everything else, the Black vote still goes to the most radical (on every issue under the sun) politicians out there. If they were ever going to draw a line, it would have been drawn a long time ago. Most Blacks simply don't care. And they never have to deal with it (after all, just being Black indicates transgressiveness and support from all liberals).
Black Africans, meanwhile, are right in the way of the Soros/homosexual/moslem axis and American Blacks don't seem to care about that either.
The KKK is an extension of white, southern Protestants.
Anti-Catholic bigotry is the last acceptable form of the Klan at FreeRepublic.
I’m Catholic, and I feel far more support here for traditional Catholic views than antagonism. Plenty of opponents, but that is their right.
In contemporary America, conversion from one denomination to another is relatively rare, with most additions to the faithful coming from demography or recovering those who have fallen away or evangelizing the unchurched. After Vatican II, the Catholic Church has not done well with evangelism, with the limited exception of traditionalist orders and churches that are now being suppressed by Pope Francis and his crew of thugs and Leftists.
All too true. The anti-Catholic preachments one reads are like something out of a crude tent meeting in which Catholics, Coca-Cola, and dancing all get denounced in the sternest possible terms.
I agree that the Catholic Church has done a poor job of evangelizing since Vatican II; by basically giving weight to other denominations, they gave little reason for anyone to convert to what is generally a stricter Truth. Worst sales pitch ever...
Other denominations have done quite well attracting former Catholics, though.
The social gospel favored by the Left is weak gruel for anyone searching for truths to guide one’s life.
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