History tells us that Black Catholics were the first to hold a national lay Catholic Congress in the United States. The Congress offered opportunities for Black Catholics to speak for themselves on the issues of evangelization, spirituality, education and the plight of Black Americans.
The National Black Catholic Congress is comprised of member organizations, that represents African American Roman Catholics. NBCC works in collaboration with National Roman Catholic organizations. The Congress serves to motivate and inspire Catholic leaders to share the Gospel with members of the black community, develop methods of evangelization within the context of their social and economic conditions, devise strategies for implementation, and develop a black Catholic agenda.
HOW DID NBCC BEGIN?
NBCC was founded by Daniel Rudd, in 1889. Daniel Rudd was born on August 7, 1854 to Robert and Elizabeth Rudd. Daniel was one of 12 children. His father was a slave on the Rudd estate near Bardstown, Kentucky and his mother was a slave of the Hayden family in Bardstown. Both parents were Catholic. After the Civil War, Rudd moved to Springfield, Ohio in order to get a secondary school education. In 1886 he began a Black newspaper called the "Ohio State Tribune." That same year Rudd changed focus of the weekly newspaper and gave it the name "American Catholic Tribune" the only Catholic Journal owned and published by a Colored man. The Newsletter is presently published by the NBCC as the African American Catholic Tribune.
In 1889 Rudd, called together the
very first National Black Catholic
Congress. This meeting was held at
St. Augustine Catholic Church in Washington
D.C. The purpose of the meeting was to address the needs
of Black Catholics. Distinguished men of African descent came
from all over the United States to participate in this historic event.
President Grover Cleveland invited two hundred delegates to the White House
for a meeting.
The Second Black Congress was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1890, this Congress focused on "the most imperative need for education." It also called for the establishment of an industrial School and demanded the abolition of the slave trade in Africa.
The Third Black Catholic Congress was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1892. A committee was formed to draw up a constitution for a permanent organization. It also went on record favoring "education of the races" as well as supporting the provisions of the Brussels Treaty against the slave trade in Africa.
The Fourth Black Congress was held in Chicago, Illinois, 1893. Discriminatory actions in Catholic schools were attacked. Questions surfaced regarding whether the Negro should return to Africa, and the establishment of schools and churches for blacks. The newly created St. Peter Claver Catholic Union was approved, 5000 people attended this meeting.
The Fifth Black Catholic Congress was held in Baltimore, Maryland, 1894. The president of this Congress was Dr. William Lofton who addressed the Congress, He stated, "We hope to hail the day ...when the American people, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and the laity shall rise up in the might and stamp out the prejudice which is today destroying the life's blood of the country."
After the Fifth Congress these forums came to an abrupt end. There was not another meeting of Black Catholics until the founding of the Knights of Peter Claver in 1909. In 1925, the Federated Colored Catholics held a National Convention, it is believed that this group met annually until 1949. The National Office of Black Catholics founded in 1960 had sponsored National Conferences in 1980, Chicago, Illinois,; 1982, Houston, Texas and in 1984, New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Sixth Congress , convened in Washington,
D.C. 1987, and started the National Movement which called African Americans
to take more active roles in articulating concerns of Black Catholics.
Nearly 1,500
delegates, observers, several hundred
priests, and over fifty bishops filled the national Shrine of The Immaculate
Conception. The main work of the Congress was the formulation
and approval of a National Black Catholic Pastoral Plan.
The Seventh Congress convened in New Orleans,
Louisiana, 1992. Close to 2,000 of the country's African American
Catholics gathered to discuss the African American Family. It was
after a comprehensive planning process on the part of African American
Catholics that the topic of the African American Family emerged as the
theme for
Congress VII.
The outcome of the Seventh Congress was the approval of eleven Pastoral Statements, eight Public Policy Statements and a publication, "A Balm in Gielad: Programs for Parish Implementation," that related to the African American family.
The Eighth Congress convened in Baltimore,
Maryland, 1997. Built on the successes of previous Congresses
to establish a national consultative and educational forum on the call
to evangelization. Approximately 3500 participants attended this Congress
which included cardinals, bishops, clergy, religious and lay leaders who
minister to African American in the Catholic
Church. Another component of the Congress was the dedication
of the "Our Mother of Africa Chapel" at the National Basilica
of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
Approximately 4000 participants who traveled from various dioceses attended
this historic
event.
The outcome of the eighth Congress was the publication of the document "The Call to Evangelization: Ambassadors Speaking for Christ". The publication offers resources, suggestions, and other information designed to be used throughout the calendar year.
The Ninth Congress will convene in Chicago,
Illinois, August 29 - September 2, 2002. Congress IX theme
is; "African American Black Catholic Leadership in the 21st Century:
Solidarity in Action."
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