Black and Not Protestant

Diana L. Hayes and Cyprian Davis, O.S.B., eds. Taking Down Our Harps: Black Catholics in the United States. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1998. xv + 285pp. $18.00 (paper).

Diana Hayes and Cyprian Davis provide an important discussion of the tone and texture of Black Catholicism using four modes of investigation: historical description, theological construction, social ethics, and liturgy. Davis ("God of Our Weary Years") lays out a historical time line of Black Catholicism marked by several key events: (1) the first African Catholics to reach North America in 1565; (2) the development of two orders of African American women; (3) ordination of the first Black priest in 1830; (4) the Black Catholic Congress and the development of the Institute of Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University. He points out, through this long and complex history, the manner in which the presence of African Americans in the Church raised questions concerning its racist practices, but in a more constructive way served to generate a "much richer Catholicism" committed to social justice.

In the section devoted to Black Catholic theology, this push toward social justice is explored in relationship to faith, Christology, and theological anthropology. Using African American cultural forms such as the spirituals and the principles of Nguzo Saba, Hayes ("Through the Eyes of Faith") pushes for an understanding of Black Catholic theology as premised on a profound faith in the liberating activity of Jesus Christ and the historical experience of African Americans. She argues for the vitality of the Black Catholic tradition as a proper source for the doing of liberation theology. Drawing on James Cone's notion of "ontological blackness," Hayes calls the Catholic church to become deeply connected to the liberation struggle of oppressed people. In this way, Catholics can mirror the concern for the oppressed demonstrated in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Her appeal to the liberating activity of Christ as a model for modern praxis is continued in the article by Jamie Phelps ("Inculturating Jesus"). Using the method of correlation and a sociological/psychological lens, Phelps outlines the oppressive circumstances in and out of the Church - which African Americans have survived. She notes that a proper sense of African American identity is achievable through attention to the life of Jesus because emulation of Christ's ministry necessitates the destruction of oppressive sociopolitical and economic structures.

Whereas Phelps draws from the social gospel to provide a religious impulse for socioeconomic and political concerns, Hayes ("And When We Speak") draws on the work of womanist scholars. Her presentation of womanist theology's historical and ideological development is not unique, but Hayes's attention to the importance of the Mother of God, Mary, in the reconstruction of models of leadership and service is unique and intriguing. Moving away from Mary as a submissive and docile woman, Hayes proposes that Mary was a bold woman who went against societal norms to bring forth the will of God. In like manner, then, Black Catholic women must exercise defiance and courage in securing social transformation (which is the will of God for our age).

Recognizing that Black Catholic liberation theology is young, M. Shawn Copeland ("Method in Emerging Black Catholic Theology") pushes for sustained attention to methodology. Accordingly, Black Catholic theology must: (1) dispel misguided assumptions that the Roman Catholic church leaves no room for creative and constructive theological work; (2) determine upon what authority this theology is developed; and (3) think through Black Catholic theology's formation in light of the traditions of the Catholic church -- liturgical, spiritual and intellectual. She affirms the manner in which the cultural heritage of African Americans, the Catholic tradition and American history work in concert to form the basis of Black Catholic theological discourse defined by four elements: critique, retrieval, construction, and social analysis. With the first two, Black Catholic theology is able to explore scripture and the structures of the Catholic faith, and expose areas of repression and oppression within the Church. This is informed by an under standing of theology as archeological process by which the stories and voices of the marginalized are given attention that, in turn, provides an "archaic critique" of the Church. Reclaiming Black Catholic life is a moment of construction be cause it expands Catholicism beyond the questions and concerns of immigrant Europeans, Finally, Copeland's project involves social analysis by which the experience of Black Catholics serves as a resource for the doing of theology, allowing for the fruitful combining of black experience and Catholic identity and tradition.

A concern with social ethics is acknowledged through articles by Bryan N. Massingale ("The Case for Catholic Support") and Toinette M. Eugene ("Between 'Lord, Have Mercy!' and 'Thank You, Jesus!"'). Massingale suggests that the ethical concerns commonly associated with liberation thought are supported by the Church's social teachings on distributive justice because these teachings are marked by an appreciation for the dignity of all humanity as created in the image of God. Therefore, the Church should embrace a commitment to a society in which all are capable of living with resources and opportunities befitting human per sons. Eugene continues this commitment to social justice by arguing for liturgy that fosters and supports the social ethics of the Church. She, like Black Protestant womanists, extends available resources through attention to the work of Alice Walker; finding in Walker's work tools for liturgical renewal. Those who are engaged in this liturgical renewal are called "cultural workers," drawing on the work of Henry Giroux, because they are engaged in the work for social justice as an outgrowth of liturgy defined by creativity and a "larger moral imagination."