LRB-4885/1
LTK:skw&ahe
2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE
November 12, 2019 - Introduced by Representatives L. Myers, Crowley, Bowen,
Haywood, Stubbs, Fields, Sinicki, Zamarripa, Horlacher, Vining, Hebl,
Tusler, Hesselbein, Steffen and Vruwink, cosponsored by Senators L.
Taylor
, Johnson, Wirch, Larson and Carpenter. Referred to Committee on
Rules.
AJR105,1,1 1Relating to: proclaiming November 2019 as Black Catholic History Month.
AJR105,1,42 Whereas, in 1990, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus of the United
3States designated November as Black Catholic History Month to recognize and
4foster respect for the lives and contributions of Catholics of African descent; and
AJR105,1,75 Whereas, All Saints' Day, observed on November 1, invites people to remember
6venerable saints of African descent such as St. Martin de Porres, St. Benedict the
7Moor, and St. Augustine; and
AJR105,1,10   8Whereas, All Souls' Day, observed on November 2, invites people to remember
9the estimated two million enslaved Africans who lost their lives due to inhumane
10treatment during the Middle Passage crossing of the Atlantic Ocean; and
AJR105,1,1311 Whereas, Catholics of African descent have lived in the Americas for as long as
12Catholics have lived in the Americas, with Kongolese Catholics being among the first
13enslaved peoples brought to the British colonies; and
AJR105,1,1514 Whereas, there are now an estimated three million black Catholics living in the
15United States; and
AJR105,2,6
1Whereas, after centuries of struggling for recognition within their own church,
2black American Catholics formed several new black Catholic organizations,
3including the Knights of Peter Claver, the National Black Sisters' Conference, the
4National Black Catholic Seminarians Association, and the National Association of
5Black Catholic Deacons. In 1968, the Black Catholic Clergy Caucus was created to
6protest white supremacy; and
AJR105,2,107 Whereas, through the Black Catholic Movement, as this collective action
8became known, black American Catholics were not only able to establish their own
9leadership and cultural identity within the faith, but also to push religious
10communities to begin reckoning with its history of racism; and
AJR105,2,1611 Whereas, that work continues, with the United States Conference of Catholic
12Bishops recently issuing a pastoral letter calling for church members to acknowledge
13“the scourge of racism” and work to stop the racial inequality established by slavery
14and perpetuated for generations against African Americans by wage theft, Jim Crow
15laws, and the systemic denial of access to wealth-building opportunities, such as
16securing home loans; and
AJR105,2,2117 Whereas, although there are currently no black American saints, there are six
18widely revered black American Catholics who are advancing toward sainthood as a
19result of their remarkable kindness, generosity, and devoted faith: Venerable Pierre
20Toussaint, Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, Venerable Henriette Delille, Venerable
21Augustus Tolton, Julia Greeley, and Sr. Thea Bowman; and
AJR105,2,2422 Whereas, the role of black Catholics in the United States continues to evolve
23and their positive contributions to the church and the culture at large are
24undeniable; now, therefore, be it
AJR105,3,2
1Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the Wisconsin
2Legislature recognizes November 2019 as Black Catholic History Month.
AJR105,3,33 (End)
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