Black History Month

This month, Providence Catholic faculty and students will be learning more about Black History Month in a few different ways. Several of the morning prayers will be devoted to learning more about Black History Month. In addition, faculty will be implementing Black History Month within their lesson plans. And IALAC 2.0, Providence Catholic’s diversity club, has spent time over the last month researching black leaders and creating biographies to share with you on this page. Check back for new biographies. Visit social media for more about what is taking place in classrooms this month, too.

To learn more about inclusion and diversity at Providence Catholic, visit https://www.providencecatholic.org/about/school-identity/inclusion-diversity.

To listen to morning prayers, visit: https://www.providencecatholic.org/faith-life/prayer-archives.

About IALAC 2.0
In 2018, Providence Catholic brought in the Anti-Defamation League to train 32 students as Peer Leaders to promote a community of acceptance and inclusion. Since then, we have trained 18 additional students (and are training more this year) to replace the seniors who have graduated. These students serve as the nucleus of the IALAC 2.0 organization, whose purpose is to promote Inclusion, Awareness, Leadership, Acceptance, and Community among the student body. IALAC 2.0 builds on the original IALAC program (I Am Lovable And Capable) used during the New Celtic Welcome retreat.


Frederick Douglas 
(written by Matthew Martin, Class of 2022)

Frederick Douglass was a dedicated man who after escaping slavery, dedicated his life to abolish the system that held him captive during his early years of life. Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born into slavery on February 14, 1818 in Maryland. His mother worked on a different planation and died when he was young, and he never knew his father. Early on in his life, he learned that education and literacy was crucial to obtaining his freedom. Douglass taught himself how to read and write and taught other slaves as well. Frederick escaped slavery by using a disguise of sailor and boarded a train to New York City; when he reached New York City he was officially a free man. Quickly after becoming a free man, Douglass travelled to the North and Midwest, speaking about the horrors of slavery. His reputation and popularity quickly rose throughout the nation, and even the world. Douglass spoke about slavery in Ireland, Scotland, and England. Due to Douglass’s extreme vigor and tenacity, the Emancipation Proclamation was an outcome of the Civil War, which brought about the end of slavery in America. Douglass’s story is a textbook example of the overwhelming odds one can overcome, and a testament to the adage that anyone can make a difference.

 


Mae C. Jemison
(written by Grace Ryan, Class of 2023)

Mae C. Jemison is an American astronaut and physician who became the first black woman to be apart of Nasa’s astronaut training program, on June 4, 1987. Then on September 12, 1992, Jemison flew into space abroad Endeavour, becoming the first black female in space. Before the accomplishment of becoming an astronaut, Jemison got her medical degree in 1981 and spent two years in the Peace Corps, teaching and doing medical research. After her many achievements, Jemison was awarded with numerous awards. Jemison impacted many lives and broke many social barriers with her achievements.

 

 


St. Josephine Bakhita
(written by Anna Lennon, Class of 2021)

Born in Olgossa, Africa and member to the Daju tribe, St. Josephine Bakhita was captured and enslaved by Arab slave traders. During her enslavement, this holy saint was often treated cruelly and suffered from over 114 scars. She was eventually given to a family in Italy where she was left in the care of the Canossian Sisters while the family traveled. It was at the convent where St. Josephine grew to love God, was baptized, and realized His call for her to be His sister. When the family returned, they tried to take the saint away, but she refused. Eventually, her case went to court where it was decided that since slavery was outlawed in Italy, St. Josephine was free. St. Josephine would spend the rest of her life with the Canossian sisters, where she was loved by all, especially children. Throughout the remainder of her life, St Josephine would give thanks to God for the struggles of slavery for she would say it was through her capture and enslavement that she was able to know God. St. Josephine Bakhita’s life story reminds us that in the midst of hardship, God is always present and brings beauty. She reminds us the power of God’s divine Providence (will) and to always have faith. During Black History Month, let us pray that in the midst of struggle and darkness we may see God’s loving hand in it and have faith that He will care for us.

 


Wilma Glodean Rudolph
(writtten by Megan Whitten, Class of 2022)

Wilma Glodean Rudolph, one of twenty-two children, was born June 23, 1940. Though she survived from polio and scarlet fever as a child, Wilma was told she would never be able to walk again. However, each year, Wilma made more and more progress and was eventually strong enough to play sports. She was a natural athlete, and as a high school student, she competed in college level running. In the 1960 Olympics, she became not only the first woman, but the first African American woman, to win three gold medals in track and field and received the name “fastest woman in the world.” Wilma also won the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award in 1961, was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame, and became the first woman to receive the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Silver Anniversary Award. Even more, she created an organization to help amateur track athletes. Though Rudolph had many odds against her, she remained persistent and serves as a powerful inspiration to never give up.


Rosa Parks
(written by Raven Talusan, Class of 2021)

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was born on February 4, 1913. She is referred to as “the mother of the civil rights movement” because she demonstrated the reality of racial inequality when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and later caused a Supreme Court ruling that forced the city to desegregate its buses. Her defiance and determination proved and inspired those to take action against conforming to society’s racist views toward colored people. Another contribution she made was founding the Montgomery NAACP Youth Council in the early 1940s. Rosa Parks executed her power as a secretary of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP by contacting individuals who faced discrimination and witnessed lynchings. When she worked for Congressman John Conyers, she devoted her time in helping the poor find homes. Rosa Parks serves as an icon to inspire and motivate people to do what is right even in the toughest of situations.

 


Father Augustus Tolton
(written by Mason Freeman, Class of 2022)

Father Augustus Tolton was the first priest in the United States to be publicly known as black. Born April 1st, 1854, Tolton lived much of his early life in slavery. Later in his life, however, he traveled to Rome to study theology. On Easter Sunday, 1886, he was ordained a priest. Upon returning to the United States, he was assigned to Illinois and ultimately built St. Monica’s Catholic Church in Chicago. In 2019, Pope Francis declared him Venerable, and he is currently on the road to canonization.

 


 

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