Black women faced racism in pursuing religious vocations, says speaker

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Shannen Dee Williams, assistant professor in the department of history at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, addresses the Leadership Conference of Women Religious assembly in Atlanta Aug. 10. She spoke about racism and U.S. religious life. (CNS photo/Michael Alexander, Georgia Bulletin)

By Andrew Nelson Catholic News Service
8.16.2016 4:41 PM ET

ATLANTA (CNS) -- Black women desiring to serve a life devoted to the Catholic faith were not welcomed by religious communities with anti-black acceptance requirements from the early 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, said historian Shannen Dee Williams.

Those who could gain admittance faced discrimination from their fellow sisters, she added.

"Black sisters matter, but they constitute a dangerous memory for the church," said Williams, assistant professor of history at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

She was joined by Sister Anita Baird, a Daughter of the Heart of Mary, and Sister Dawn Tomaszewski, general superior of the Sisters of Providence, on an Aug. 12 panel discussing racism in religious life at the assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in Atlanta.

http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2016/black-women-faced-racism-in-pursuing-religious-vocations-says-speaker.cfm