For 17-year-old Ruth Mekako, the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Black History Month Mass of Thanksgiving, held Feb. 1 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, was as much about representation as it was about worship.
Black History Month
The Unsung Hero Behind Brooklyn’s First Black Catholic Community
In 1915, a group of black Catholics met at a home on Pacific Street in Prospect Heights, across from what is today the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph. The Spanish Colonial-style church with two bell towers was completed just three years earlier to replace the previous parish church, which was built in 1861, the same year the American Civil War began.
Cardinal Gregory Cites ‘Important Heritage’ at Black History Month Mass in Newark
Reflecting on Black History Month, Cardinal Wilton Gregory recalled how young people in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C., would often climb on the bronze statue of Carter G. Woodson, rub his head, and try to figure out why he got a statue in their neighborhood.
Mass Unites in Celebration of Black Heritage And Solidarity
Bishop Robert Brennan described the Black History Month Mass at St. Thérèse Lisieux Church as an “uplifting” opportunity to be together, noting the Church symbolizes family, and, therefore, Catholics must stand together in solidarity when a member is discriminated against.
How a Son of Former Slaves Became the Rockefeller of New York City’s Oyster Restaurants
Thomas Downing — a freeman born to formerly enslaved people in Virginia — became one of the city’s wealthiest citizens as the proprietor of his world-famous oyster restaurant in Lower Manhattan.
Could a Former Slave Who Defied Danger Join the Saintly Six on Path to Sainthood?
In 1878, yellow fever swept the lower Mississippi Valley, bringing chaos and killing an estimated 5,000 people in Memphis, Tennessee.
National Black Catholic Congress XIII to be Held in Washington
During Black History Month in February, Catholics are being invited to register to attend this summer’s National Black Catholic Congress, which over the years has made history of its own.
God’s Love Crosses Continents With African/Caribbean Music
Ten years ago, Sophie Nsougan had just immigrated to the United States from Togo in West Africa. While looking to find work, Nsougan took the opportunity to help introduce and integrate the unique sounds of her native country into the Mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Jamaica, Queens.
Cardinal Gregory: World Needs African Americans’ ‘Strength of Character’
Celebrating a Feb. 5 Mass in honor of Black History Month, Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory urged “ordinary people of color” to “vastly improve our world with an understanding of the strength of character that resides within the souls of our people.”
At Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, Black History Is a Yearlong Subject
At Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, the portraits of Sister Thea Bowman and Mother Mary Lange that grace the school’s walls aren’t just there for Black History Month. Their portraits, as well as depictions of historical figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., are on display throughout the year.