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COLLEGE OF SAINT ROSE

Speaker: Artist blazed path for black Catholic women

BY BENJAMIN FREY
CONTRIBUTOR African-American women handle several roles, and being Catholic only adds another layer of complexity. In this juggling act, they have a role model in author/artist Estella Conwill Majozo, according to Dr. Carolyn Jones Medine, who spoke Oct. 8 at The College of St. Rose in Albany. 

The talk concentrated on the remaking of Catholic religious thought for African-American women. 

Dr. Medine described the life of Majozo and her struggle to find her identity within the Catholic Church as an African-American woman. Majozo was a performer, playwright and author of several books, including works of poetry. 

Dr. Medine examined Majozo's autobiography, "Come Out of the Wilderness: Memoir of a Black Woman Artist," for insights on how Majozo changed Catholic religious thought.

Dr. Medine cited W.E.B. Dubois, stating that, as an African-American, one feels the sensation of possessing a "double consciousness" of being both American and black. Each consists of two separate identities. 

Dr. Medine opined that the same could be said about African-Americans and Catholics. The struggle to find her place with this dual consciousness led Majozo to re-examine her faith and "re-identify" with the Church. 

"The story written for [Majozo] as a black Catholic woman was not big enough," Dr. Medine said. "She had to create her own story and come back."

The fusing of cultures allows African-Americans to keep their culture as well as practice their faith in the Catholic Church. Medine refers to this as the "flexidoxy" and "hybridity" of religion and culture. 

"There are multiple ways people can practice religion but honor their tradition," said Dr. Medine. 

Through this "flexidoxy," Majozo was able to re-establish her spiritual life on her own terms by incorporating her own cultural experiences with her belief in God.

Raised in the southern Catholic household, Majozo's grandmother was deeply devoted to the Church. Majozo remembered her grandmother's garden, which contained flowers that represented different symbols of the Church, such as roses and dogwood.

The garden turned into a place of worship for Majozo. Dr. Medine noted that the idea of nature and culture has been shaped by African-Americans, and that the black religious identity has been shaped in different ways than that of other cultures. 

"Religion was demonstrated by practices more than beliefs; it was translated in other forms rather than text," said Dr. Medine. 

The lecturer argued that the practice holds together a community, saying this is why many African-Americans can identify with the Catholic Church: The idea of "I am because we are" resonates with the black community, according to Dr. Medine. 

Dr. Medine also chronicled the role of the Catholic Church during the civil rights movement. The Catholic Church in the south was a target of hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. The Church's long-standing tolerance for equality and community has attracted many new African-Americans to Catholicism, especially in the south. 

Dr. Medine is certain that the African-American movement in the Catholic Church in the south is finding its feet. While Catholics make up 22 percent of the American population, nearly 2.5 million Catholics are African-American. 

"It used to be that converting to Catholicism [was] a sign of social mobility," Dr. Medine said after her talk. 

Today, the lecturer credits immigration and the growing population of southern metropolitan regions for the growth of Catholic communities in the south. In Atlanta, the Catholic African-American community has grown from eight percent to 14 percent, according to Dr. Medine. 

She said she only expects this number to grow as more people "come out of the wilderness."

Jeffrey Marlett, professor of religious studies at CSR, called the lecture "deep and accessible at the same time, which is the highest compliment."

"She got right to the heart of three very important issues," added Rev. Christopher DeGiovine, CSR's dean of spiritual life and chaplain. "She talked about multiple cultures versus one Catholicism, the possibility of one truth and humanity versus multiple truths, and the balance between community and individuality."

(10/15/09) [[In-content Ad]]

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