The Knights of Peter Claver & Ladies Auxiliary are hosting their latest webinar today, April 17th, at 1pm CST, covering the ever- (and somehow still increasingly) relevant topic of racism.
The event, "Racism in the Catholic Church: Blind Spots", is the biggest yet in a series coordinated by the KPC Social Justice Committee, and will feature a bevy of speakers covering topics across the spectrum of anti-Blackness in the United States.
The event will be headed off by a session from Fr Manuel B. Williams, C.R., pastor of Resurrection Catholic Church in Montgomery, who will be speaking on the topic of racism as a (whole) life issue.
Dr. Valerie D. Lewis-Mosley, a certified Master Catechist and director of religious education at the Church of Christ the King in Jersey City, will follow with the topics of evangelization, retention, and bias in vocations.
Speaking on education is Fr Michael Okere, pastor of St Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Columbia, South Carolina and director of Black Catholic ministry in the Diocese of Charleston (which recently filed suit concerning the local Blaine Amendment, which they argue is anti-Black in nature).
He will be followed by the director of XULA's Institute for Black Catholic Studies, Dr. Kathleen Dorsey Bellow, who will address racial disparities in diocesan leadership, hiring, and board appointments.
Rounding out the event is New Orleans' Fr Maurice J. Nutt, CSsR, head of the sainthood cause for Servant of God Thea Bowman, who will interrogate the difference between authentic inculturation and acculturation.
A Q&A portion will follow the above talks, and questions can be submitted beforehand at this link.
The event will be hosted by a host of KPC leaders, including Supreme Knight James K. Ellis and Supreme Lady Micaela J. LeBlanc, and the opening and closing prayers will be offered by national chaplain Bishop Martin D. Holley.
Interested parties can register here.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger, in priesthood formation with the Josephites, and a ThM student with the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA).
