Shooting prompts thoughts on racism

The recent shooting of Sonya Thompson, an African-American woman, in Albany's Arbor Hill by two white men and the allegation by police that they picked her out because of her race has prompted community leaders and citizens to call for greater attention to the effects of racism.

The Evangelist asked some Catholics to comment specifically on Ms. Thompson, who is recuperating from her wound, and generally on racism. Here are their responses:

* Arthur Farrington, principal of Albany's Regional School at St. Casimir, said racism doesn't exist at the school. "The oddest thing is we don't see it," he said. "These kids are color-blind." The school has an enrollment that is 98 percent African-American. While in school, the children don't focus on racism. "For these kids, it's not number one on their list," the principal said. School work and socializing with friends are the priority.

Racism, he said, doesn't seem to be a priority with parents either. "They're concerned with food, shelter and clothing. Race relations is not number one on their list."

Mr. Farrington said children learn about race relations through behavior modeled by the adults. He said the school also focuses on Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of non-violence.

While the school does its part to teach tolerance and understanding, Mr. Farrington said family life is also important for promoting good race relations. "A lot has to do with what goes on outside of church and school," he said. "It has to do with families."

* Rev. Francis O'Connor, administrator of St. Patrick's Church in Albany, found the shooting of Ms. Thompson to be disturbing not only on a racial level but on a personal level: Her father is a friend of Father O'Connor's and used to work for the priest's father at O'Connor's Restaurant.

While visiting Ms. Thompson at Albany Medical Center Hospital, Father O'Connor was surprised how well she and her family were handling the incident. They were coping with her injury and didn't seem bitter or angry, despite the senselessness of the crime.

Father O'Connor considers what happened to Ms. Thompson to be more than one crime. "I suppose it's two crimes really: an assault on human life is a crime, and racism is a horrendous crime as well," he said. "It must be very frightening to think that there are people who commit an act like that just because of the color of somebody's skin."

Nevertheless, Father O'Connor is no stranger to racism and other societal problems that plague the inner city. He hopes to address some of those issues with the formation of a 12-step parish program for women who are mentally ill, alcoholics or caught up in prostitution to offer support and an avenue to voice their concerns.

Parishioners of St. Patrick's pray for Ms. Thompson and her alleged assailants daily at Mass, and Father O'Connor hopes that these prayers, in combination with vigils and meetings, will help improve race relations in Arbor Hill.

* Although the shooting of Ms. Thompson is a despicable crime, "it might be a wake-up call. It might be good for the community to come together, even under such sad circumstances," said Rev. John Rooney, pastor of Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Watervliet. "Anything to bring the community together is the antithesis of racism."

Father Rooney believes that the Catholic Church is a good example of how people of different races or ethnic groups can work and worship together peacefully, and that the shooting actually could have a positive outcome among Catholics and local residents.

"I think some real good will come forth from it. Hate and violence breeds crazy actions. There's a great strength among the people in the neighborhoods," he said.

There seems to be little racial tension in Watervliet, but Father Rooney, who visits crime scenes nearby to minister to victims and their families, knows how his fellow clergy in the city would respond to such a crime in the neighborhood.

"We would try to pull together the various denominations to see if we could have a quick meeting on what would the strategy be to raise people's consciousness of the awfulness of violence and how it destroys, tears up a neighborhood," he said. "Neighbor to neighbor -- it's even more basic than Christianity."

* Joseph Grasso, principal of Albany's Bishop Maginn High School, said that racism isn't present at the school. "The students blend together," he said. "It's interesting how the kids hang interracially."

Interracial friendships aren't just something that happens with the student body; parents also have friendships that cross racial boundaries, he said, noting that it is common at sporting events to look in the stands and see families of different racial backgrounds sitting and socializing together. "The kids blend; the families blend," he said.

Mr. Grasso said he's not the only one claiming that racism isn't a problem at the school; the students have commented as well. In one of the theology classes, they were asked to rate on a scale of one to ten if racism was an issue for them. The class rated racism as a two.

Mr. Grasso sees two reasons for that. The first is that the school community is open to discussing racism. "People aren't afraid to talk about it," he said. "The kids and the faculty talk about it in class."

The second reason is the Catholic values that are the foundation of the school. "The general theme of dignity and respect [of all life] permeates our school," Mr. Grasso said. "It's the most important aspect of our school."

The relationships that exist among the student body are also critical to the harmony that exists in the school. "There is a tremendous amount of concern. Our kids care a great deal about each other."

In the 22 years Mr. Grasso has been at the school, racism has not come up as an issue. "When individual conflicts [between students] arise, rarely have they been racial in nature," he said.

* Sara Baker, an African-American parishioner of St. Joseph's Church in Schenectady, couldn't believe that two men would drive to Albany just to shoot an African-American.

"It was a shock. You think these kinds of things happen elsewhere, but not here. They didn't even know the lady. They just went and shot somebody," she said.

Mrs. Baker, who also is a member of the Ladies of Charity, a group that works with Catholic Charities of Schenectady County to help the needy, admits that racism is a problem in Schenectady, but she doesn't feel victimized herself.

"You don't think it's here, but it's here quite a bit. If you look for it, you're going to find it. If you don't, you ignore it," she said.

If an act such as the shooting in Arbor Hill occurred in Schenectady, she said, it would prompt an immediate response from religious leaders because racism is an issue that they'd want to resolve quickly.

"If something like that happens, they'd get motivated," she explained. "You don't want to see it spread, because that's when the trouble starts."

* Jeanne Schrempf, director of the diocesan Office of Religious Education, said that the Diocese does not have a separate curriculum dealing with racism. However, race relations are discussed at several levels under the topics of morality and justice and peace.

At the primary level, she explained, students are taught to care for others as well as the world and that the commandments call us to love others. At the intermediate level, children are taught that they must be responsible for giving love and respect to others. Adolescents are taught: that Jesus proclaimed freedom for all; that Catholics are called to respect just authority that supports human rights and seeks to change structures and authority that suppress people; to develop knowledge of social problems and injustices, and learn the necessary skills to analyze social issues; to recognize the injustice of racism and sexism; to learn how to act on behalf of justice and peace -- personally, interpersonally, socially, and globally; and to develop practical skills, such as peaceful conflict resolution and organization for action.

Mrs. Schrempf said the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' document, "Renewing the Vision: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry," calls for catechetical programs that teach young people to understand the importance of respecting the rights and responsibilities of the human person, and to understand that the Catholic faith calls people to work for justice, to pursue peace and to defend human dignity.

Another document, "The Challenge of Catholic Youth Evangelization," published by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, calls for evangelization programs that are inclusive. The document states, "The faith community must be inclusive on the basis of age, sex, economic status, family makeup, culture and race in its membership, ministry, celebrations and outreach. We must identify and call forth the gifts of the diverse cultures, races and age-groups present in our communities."

Mrs. Schrempf pointed out that the catechetical texts used in parishes also demonstrate how diverse the Church is through pictures and illustrations showing people of many races and cultures.

(Editor's note: The reporting for this story was done by Maureen McGuinness and Paul Quirini, staff writers.)

(12-10-98)