"As the new millennium approaches, there remains another great challenge facing this community of St. Louis, east and west of the Mississippi, and not St. Louis alone, but the whole country: to put an end to every form of racism, a plague which your Bishops have called one of the most persistent and destructive evils of the nation." ~ Pope St. John Paul II, during his visit to St. Louis, MO, on January 27, 1999.
"We should be doing a lot of listening right now. This time, we should not fail to hear what people are saying through their pain. We need to finally root out the racial injustice that still infects too many areas of American society." ~ Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, president of the USCCB, in the statement responding to the death of George Floyd.
Awareness of Systemic Injustice & the Racial Divide
In Conversations about Race, Start by Listening
An Open Letter to My Fellow White Americans
The Assumptions of White Privilege and What We Can Do about It
The Equal Justice Initiative
What Is Privilege and Why Should You Care?
How Can We Learn from Privilege?
The Myth of White Fear
Visualizing the Racial Disparities in Mass Incarceration
Church Statements & History
Brothers and Sisters to Us
Open Wide Our Hearts
Racial Injustices "Are a Full-On Attack on the Dignity of Human Life," Says Bishops' Committee Against Racism Chair
Pope Prays for U.S., Calls Racism a Pro-Life Issue
Prophetic Witnesses Against Racism
St. Maurice: the Heroic and Influential Black Soldier-Saint You've Never Heard of
Father Augustus Tolton, a Man for our Times
Get to Know Venerable Pierre Toussaint
On the Road to Sainthood: Leaders of African Descent
St. Peter Claver, the Patron Saint of Racial Justice
The Redemption of Bartoleme de Las Casas
Catholics Uncover Slaveholding History to Seek Healing
Prayer Resources
A Prayer for Racial Justice
Stations of the Cross: Overcoming Racism
When Your Heart Is Restless, Turn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Prayer for Unity and Peace from Catholic Relief Services
Scriptural Rosary for Justice and Peace
Prayer to Address the Sin of Racism
Family & Parenting Resources
Through a Child's Eyes
The Future of Fathering: Six Touchstones for "Fathering While White" in 2020 and Beyond
The Privilege of Fatherhood
Talking about Race as a Parent/Caregiver
Teaching my Daughter about Racism
Starting to Move Forward
How Partisanship Is "Weakening the Gospel Witness" in America
How to Be an Ally in the Fight for Racial Justice
Letters from the Past Orient Our Fight for Justice
Why We Need to Practice Peace and Nonviolence
You Are Not Powerless - 4 Ways to Respond to Racial Injustice
Reflective Narrative about Racial Ignorance
Editorial: The "Cancel Culture" from a Perspective of Faith
Editorial: Now Is the Time to Engage in - not Silence - Difficult Conversations on Race
How We Can Become More Open-Minded
Black Catholic Leaders Say More Integration in the Church Is Possible - If All Are Willing to Do the Work
Opening the Word: The Prophet Speaks
In the Wake of the Death of George Floyd, May We Be Motivated by a Desire for Justice, Unity, and Peace
Responding to the Call to Combat Racism
Catholic Educators Make Plans to Address Racism in America
How Do We Stay Hopeful in Times of Crises? By Focusing on God
To Fight Racism, Catholics Must Hunger for Justice like We Do for the Eucharist
White Catholics Have 'to Talk about Race and to Admit their Racism'
Talking about Race
Editorial: Row v. Wade Is the Root of Today's Violence
Race and the Catholic Understanding of Diversity
Archbishop Gregory on Today's March on Washington: the Church Needs to Do More for Racial Justice
Fordham's Bryan Massingale: White Catholics Need to Sit with the Discomfort of Systemic Racism
Black Lives Matter
Peaceful Black Lives Matter Protest, March Held at O'Fallon City Hall
Toward a Catholic Understanding of the Phrase "Black Lives Matter"
Can Catholics Support 'Black Lives Matter'? (1)
Can Catholics Support 'Black Lives Matter'? (2)
"Black Lives Matter" Affirms the Dignity of Human Life
The Value of Human Life: An African Jesuit Reflects on the Black Lives Matter Movement
Statues
Statement from the Archdiocese of St. Louis on the St. Louis Statue
Catholicism and the Tearing Down of Statues
In Assessing the Value of Statues, We Need to Ask: Who Are 'We'?
Truth of Saint's Ministry Is his Respect, Loving Care of Indigenous
Attacks on Statues Seen as "Signs of Society in Need of Healing"
Video Resources
Artist's Black Pieta Calls for Justice
This Young Student Is Standing Up for Black Lives
3 Artists Fighting Racism
This Poet Is Fighting Injustice with Creativity
3 Neighbors Transforming their Communities
3 Change-Makers Working for Inclusion
Tattoo Artists Cover Up Racist Tattoos
Educate Yourself on Racial Injustice with These Movies
What to Stream: It's Time for White American to Learn More about Systemic Racism
Nonprofit Combats Racial Disparity in the Bail System
From Bishop Emeritus Braxton
Click here to see the writings of Bishop Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D, 8th Bishop of Belleville, many of which deal with the Racial Divide in the United States and the Catholic Church, on which he is one of the foremost authorities.
Click here for a short segment on the state of African American membership in the Catholic Church from Bishop Braxton's talk at St. Clare in 2018.