Keeping Harlem Catholic: African-American Catholics and Harlem, 1920-1960
By the turn of the twentieth century, Harlem was home to seven Roman Catholic parishes built by and for its German, Irish and Italian residents. By the 1920s, most Catholics of European descent had moved away from Harlem. In their place, blacks, primarily from the South and Caribbean, took their pla...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
American Catholic Historical Society
2003
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| In: |
American catholic studies
Year: 2003, Volume: 114, Issue: 3, Pages: 3-21 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | By the turn of the twentieth century, Harlem was home to seven Roman Catholic parishes built by and for its German, Irish and Italian residents. By the 1920s, most Catholics of European descent had moved away from Harlem. In their place, blacks, primarily from the South and Caribbean, took their places in Harlem. Some of the new residents were Catholic but most were not. This presented a challenge to the Archdiocese of New York City that had made substantial investments in the churches of Harlem. Patrick Cardinal Hayes did not think the changing racial composition of Harlem needed to mean the changing religious composition of Harlem as well. Determined to maintain a vital Catholic presence in Harlem, Cardinal Hayes enlisted the help of the Franciscan Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, the Congregation of the Holy Ghost, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, and a band a diocesan priests, called the New York Apostolate, to evangelize African-American Harlemites. This paper explores the various strategies these sisters and priests used to maintain a strong Catholic presence in Harlem as well as the African-American Catholic community that grew in Harlem between 1920 and 1960. It pays particular attention to the lives and works of Ellen Tarry, children's book author and Catholic activist for racial justice, and famed jazz pianist and composer of jazz Masses, Mary Lou Williams. |
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| ISSN: | 2161-8534 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American catholic studies
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