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Raising Awareness of Racism
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During the General Chapter of 2001 the Springfield Dominicans began the process of examining our structures for institutionalized racial bias. A team of sisters partnered with people of color who are colleagues in ministry or friends of the sisters. They began to study and analyze the structures of racism within the congregation and to design a plan for dismantling those structures.
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 Members of the Planning/Design
Task Force
Reggie Britton, Sr. Mary Clare Fichtner, Leroy Jordan, Doug King, Sr. Marcelline Koch,
Classie Murray, Sr. Katherine O'Connor, Sr. Rose Marie Riley, Sr. Phyllis Schenk
Daphne Skretvedt, Sr. Mary Jean Traeger
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As a first step toward implementing the chapter’s mandate, the anti-racism team
developed a time-line for continued study and planning and created this vision statement:
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We, the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois, are called by God to live and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a church and world suffering from the sin of racism. As an anti-racist institution we are accountable to people of color in mutual relationships based on respect, equality and justice. Together, we examine and redefine all aspects of our life, mission and ministry to incorporate and witness anti-racism. We commit, as a publicly identified anti-racist congregation, to work toward an inclusive and anti-racist church and world."
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| What is racism? |
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"Racism is not the same thing as race prejudice," says Sister Marcelline Koch. "Racism is a combination of the abuse of institutional power and race prejudice, so that, even if someone has worked to rid herself of a personal prejudice against people of certain ethnic or racial groups, she is still caught in the web of racism which is supported by institutional structures that were designed to privilege the group with social power and disenfranchise those without it."
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In June 2005, the Springfield Dominicans, during their the general chapter, voted unanimously in favor of the following chapter proposal:
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"We commit ourselves to being on the path to becoming an anti-racist congregation and authorizing the anti-racism team to help us get there by leading us through training and analysis."
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Sister Rose Marie Riley, prioress general of the Springfield Dominicans, explained the decision: "The goal of this process is to heal the deep wound of racism that scars our world, our country, and our congregation, and because of that, also scars the body of Christ, the Church."
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This process of examining the racist structures within our own community and the institutions over which we have influence is a humbling experience. Our purpose is not to point fingers at others, but, in the light of God’s love and with the assistance and dedication of our partners in the process, to change ourselves. We believe this is a mandate of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We may not do this perfectly, and, being human, we will undoubtedly fail at certain points along the way. By publicly declaring our intentions to engage in this process of becoming an anti-racist congregation, we desire to hold ourselves accountable for who we say we want to be. We ask for your prayers for our efforts.
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| What is Next? |
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One thing to do is to use the lens of anti-racism in looking at situations far and near, personal and societal: Where is the oppression? Who has the privilege? How are ALL hurt and how is racism’s power increased?
One situation to look at is Haiti and the earthquake earlier this year. Through the coverage, probably we all have learned something about the history of Haiti that made it more vulnerable to devastation. Some brief facts:
- Saint-Domingue (as Haiti was known) was a colony of France from 1697 to 1804 and provided France with great resources and income.
- The African slaves battled for ten years for independence from France and succeeded in 1804. Haiti became the first independent black republic and the second independent nation in the western hemisphere.
- Haiti had to pay France for recognition as a legitimate country and for lost future wealth due to the Haitian Revolution. The debt of 150 million francs (later reduced to 60 m) equaled about $21 billion when it was paid off in 1947. Haiti borrowed from France to begin paying the debt and has been in debt ever since.
- The United States did not recognize Haiti’s independence until 1862.
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Consider the following in reflection and conversation:
- What do you know about the oppression of African slaves in Haiti?
- What has been part of their oppression since 1804?
- Who had the privilege in Saint-Domingue?
- Who has had the privilege since Haiti’s independence, both inside and outside of the country?
- How would oppression and privilege figure into the U.S. decision to not recognize Haiti’s independence until 1862?
- Hatians have been criticized for practicing VoDou, along with their other adopted religions. Are they the only peoples of the world who have carried their ancient traditions forward along with Christianity?
- Does it seem that any responses to the current devastation are typically racist -- or -- newly anti-racist?
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Learn more about our journey toward dismantling racism in our religious community.
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