As the nation celebrates freedom in the upcoming Juneteenth holiday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, it is important to acknowledge its racial history honestly so the work of justice and equality can continue, panelists said in a June 15 online discussion.
“We actually have to have the courage to be truth tellers and to tell the full truth, the full story of who we are as Americans, and not be afraid to do so… We have to make sure that in the story of America, all those who have contributed to this country are included, because all of it makes up who we are,” said Bishop-elect Robert P. Boxie III, an African American priest who on May 1 was appointed by Pope Leo XIV to become a new auxiliary bishop of Washington.
Bishop-elect Boxie – who will be ordained as a bishop on July 7 – was among three panelists in a dialogue on “250 Years Towards Racial Justice: Progress, Promise, and Challenges,” sponsored by the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University.
Presenting the “true truth” about the painful aspects of U.S. history is important, he said, because avoiding those realities “prevents us from healing. It prevents us from appreciating the richness of this country in order to solve the real challenges we face as a nation and a society, so as to realize the promises that were enshrined in these founding documents.”
The bishop-elect, who in recent years has served as the chaplain at the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center at Howard University in Washington, said he likes to run near the National Mall, and he has noticed a big banner hanging from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that says, “USDA Celebrates 250 Years of Freedom,” with images of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington with a farm in the background.
Pointing to the irony of that banner, Bishop-elect Boxie noted that George Washington, the first president, enslaved people who did the work on his farm at Mount Vernon.
The other panelists participating in the discussion were Melvin Rogers, the Edna and Richard Salomon Distinguished Professor of Political Science and associate director of the Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; and Diann Rust-Tierney, an associate professor of law at the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law.
Kimberly Mazyck, the associate director for engagement of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown, served as the moderator for the dialogue.
Providing the context for the conversation, Mazyck noted, “As the United States commemorates Juneteenth marking the end of slavery in the United States, the nation is also preparing to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. While the Declaration of Independence states, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,’ enslavement did not end in this country until 1865, 89 years after the signing of this founding document.”
Noting another historical context, Mazyck pointed out how “it is important for us to acknowledge that Georgetown University exists in part because of the proceeds from an 1838 sale of 272 enslaved women, men and children,” a sale by the Maryland Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, to Louisiana sugar plantation owners that helped sustain the financial survival of Georgetown College, now the university.
The conversation was held four days before the Juneteenth national holiday on June 19, which commemorates the day in 1865, more than two months after the Civil War ended, when U.S. Major General Gordon Granger issued an order informing the people of Texas that all enslaved people there were now free.
Panelist Melvin Rogers noted, “To my mind, the 250th anniversary and Juneteenth, these things don’t stand in opposition, they’re not in competition. The 250th, it is us acknowledging the ways in which the founders put in circulation these wonderful ideas of liberty, equality and self-government. And Juneteenth, it seems to me, is a reminder that we struggled and in some instances failed to extend those principles to all.”
He added that “these two moments should go together as part of our shared civic inheritance… It seems to me a healthy, mature democracy should be able to do both of these things simultaneously, both acknowledge its achievements and be very honest about where it has fallen short, so it is clear the work it has to do going forward.”
In her introductory remarks, Mazyck said recent judicial and legislative actions have undermined landmark legislation promoting racial justice like the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. She also noted how the Trump administration has taken steps against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs across the country and has “taken steps to change the way schools and museums teach the history of racial injustice in this country.”
“Catholic teaching teaches us that racism is a sin, it’s a national moral failure and it’s a fundamental test of our faith,” she said.
In her remarks, panelist Diann Rust-Tierney noted how the U.S. historical narrative is problematic when the role of African Americans in building the country is not acknowledged.
She noted how Frederick Douglass – in a famous 1852 speech to the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester, New York titled, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” – said, “The blessings in which you this day rejoice are not enjoyed in common.”
Rust-Tierney expressed concern that amendments to the U.S. Constitution offering the promise of a multiracial democracy, including the 15th amendment which guaranteed that the right to vote will not be denied by race, now seem to be “under attack,” with similar historical arguments being made to erode those protections.
Asked about his reaction to the apology for the Church’s involvement in slavery that Pope Leo offered in his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Bishop-elect Boxie said, “I’m overjoyed, I’m relieved, and honestly, it’s about time… Really, it’s a watershed moment for the Church, and) the whole world. So many countries benefitted from the transatlantic slave trade.”
In the encyclical, which is subtitled, “On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” Pope Leo wrote, “neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery… It was only in the nineteenth century that a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated, notably under Pope Leo XIII… This constitutes a wound in Christian memory.”
Bishop-elect Boxie noted “how symbolic and meaningful that this pope has done this –Pope Leo, who has Black ancestry, who has African blood running in his veins.” The maternal grandparents of the Chicago-born pontiff were listed in census documents as Black or mulatto.
The pope’s apology can also spur “bishops and lay leaders to make similar acknowledgements and efforts toward reconciliation in their dioceses and parishes and their organizations… the Church can lead in healing,” Bishop-elect Boxie said.
He noted how three of the “Saintly Seven” African American Catholics being considered for sainthood were once enslaved. Venerable Father Augustus Tolton from Chicago, who in 1886 became the first U.S. Roman Catholic priest publicly know to be Black, was born in slavery, as were Venerable Pierre Toussaint from New York City and Servant of God Julia Greeley from Denver, who were known for their works of charity.
“While the Church and her members participated in this great evil of society, it did not deter these heroic and courageous men and women from staying and believing in the Church. And you can’t tell me that that’s not the stuff of holiness or sainthood,” Bishop-elect Boxie said.
Panelist Diann Rust-Tierney – who earlier served as the executive director of the Racial Justice Institute and as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Law Center – noted the death penalty’s historic connection to slavery, and how that punishment today continues to be disproportionately meted out against minorities.
“I have argued that the death penalty is not a criminal justice policy, it is not about keeping us safe. It was part of the legal machinery and infrastructure necessary to maintain slavery. That is why we still see the same racial outcomes,” she said, adding, “I see ending the death penalty as part and parcel of creating a democracy where the rule of law is the rule of law for everyone.”
The panelists also discussed how African Americans historically worked for racial justice and how that work can continue today.
Panelist Melvin Rogers – the author of “The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy and Freedom in African American Political Thought” – noted that African Americans have relied on “social courage,” understanding that “one is able to bear the burden of injustice in part because you don’t bear it alone, you bear it with those who are standing beside you. This was the hallmark of the abolitionist movement and most certainly the Civil Rights Movement, and certainly that must be the hallmark of our ongoing struggle,” he said.
Diann Rust-Tierney echoed that point, adding that “when you look at the secret sauce, the secret ingredient of our progress, it was the empathy that the broader society developed when they understood or saw what was happening… (it’s) the empathy that we develop that helps push our movements forward.”
Noting the Catholic Church’s role in that effort, Bishop-elect Boxie said, “The Church must and has to be on the side of racial justice and reconciliation in all of its forms. The Church is pro-life, and the USCCB (the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) has labeled racism as America’s original sin, and this is the original pro-life issue in the United States.”
He said that advocacy for racial justice “means that the Church must use her prophetic voice, her magisterium, her social teaching, her moral authority, to bear on all of these issues, and use her ministries, her outreach, her teachings in the Church to dismantle these systems that perpetrate inequality inside and outside the Church.”
Confronting racism and working for racial justice, the bishop-elect said, “starts with us, within our own hearts, a personal conversion of heart. We need to pray that we become aware of these issues, that we are sensitive to the demands of justice and the dignity of every human person. That starts with us, in our own hearts.”
Bishop-elect Boxie said people need to educate themselves “on the history, the consequences, the causes, the harms of racism and injustice and not be indifferent or oblivious to them.” Another key thing to do, he said, is to listen to the stories of people affected by racial injustice, and ultimately, “we have to act on what we have seen and heard.”
He noted that is the title of a 1984 pastoral letter on evangelization issued by the Black Catholic bishops of the United States, “but we haven’t learned from what we have seen and heard in these past 40 years, so I think this is really a moment for us to take stock of where we are, and really commit ourselves to this important work, which is sacred work, which is holy work.”
As the dialogue concluded, the panelists discussed how young people have a key role to play in working for racial justice.
Diann Rust-Tierney recommended that they “remember the ancestors. They fought for something they couldn’t imagine, and they knew they would be part of this long effort, this struggle toward freedom. So that’s what I would tell young people as well. Do what you can, but recognize that you’re part of a relay, and embrace that.”
Bishop-elect Boxie underscored that “young people in the history of the world have been the change agents, and so I would say to use your voice, to not lose hope, and to not be afraid. You actually have more power than you think. And if you look back in perspective, Jesus Christ, he literally revolutionized the world as a young adult, as a young person at 33 years old. The world has not been the same since.”
Concluding his remarks, Bishop-elect Boxie emphasized that “we’re all called to be these agents of healing and of reconciliation, in demanding it and participating in it. I really believe young people are going to be at the center of how we move forward at this point of our history, at 250 right now, and setting the stage for the next 250 years.”
