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Along with nearly 100 other people from the archdiocese, I took an early bus to Washington, D.C., the weekend before last for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, one of the seminal civil rights events of the 20th century.
I was the first person to arrive on the steps of St. Charles Borromeo Church on West 141st Street in Harlem very early in the morning Saturday, Aug. 24, more than an hour before two buses were scheduled to depart at 3 a.m. Before long, Tom Dobbins, justice and peace coordinator of archdiocesan Catholic Charities and one of the trip coordinators, joined me, then others soon started to arrive.
Many were from St. Charles Borromeo parish, which is marking its 125th anniversary this year. The parish’s pastor, Father Gregory Chisholm, S.J., who is the interim vicar of Central Harlem, was present and bid the group farewell with a prayer.
Also making the journey were other parishioners from the vicariate, along with other priests including Father Freddy Washington, C.S.Sp., the new administrator of St. Mark the Evangelist, as well as other priests, deacons and religious.
Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, executive director of archdiocesan Catholic Charities, played a leadership role as the archdiocesan group moved through the streets and Metro system of Washington, D.C., to the National Mall where the program was held.
“As we learned about (the march), it seemed to us that it’s kind of the broader mission of Catholic Charities to make the society that we live in a little more just,” Msgr. Sullivan told me in Washington. “I was delighted we could team up with St. Charles Borromeo.”
On the way to a spot nearer to the speakers’ platform at the Lincoln Memorial, our group saw the Washington Monument, still draped in repair scaffolding, and passed the inspiring World War II Memorial. People lifted signs in support of any number of causes including an end to racial profiling, supporting the rights of immigrants and encouraging equal access to good jobs.
The archdiocesan group benefited from the presence of the wisdom of some who had been alive when the March for Freedom and Jobs was held half a century ago.
James Addison, a longtime team member of Catholic Charities’ Life Experience and Faith Sharing program, was joined by his wife, Karen, and their adult daughter, Tara, and his brother, Robert, along with many others associated with the Charities’ program.
As he reflected on the contributions of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., whose “I Have a Dream” speech electrified the 250,000 people who had come to the same place 50 years earlier, James Addison said he viewed Dr. King “in the same sense that I think of a lot of the other prophets, like Moses.”
“He was somebody who spoke truth to power, someone who had a great love for his people and for all people,” said Addison, who also remembered the sacrifices Dr. King made for the civil rights movement and for the United States.
“Thank God, we aren’t where we used to be—but the struggle goes on,” Addison said.
He said he would bring the experience back to those with whom he works in the Life Experience and Faith Sharing program, many of whom are poor, some without permanent housing and others who have recently been released from prison.
Also invited to attend were a number of young Pierre Toussaint Scholars, an initiative of the archdiocesan Office of Black Ministry. It was a smart idea, I think, to encourage their involvement as a way to pass the legacy of the civil rights era to a new generation with its own gifts.
Stephanie Henry, 20, a junior studying sociology at Providence College, said she appreciated the opportunity “to honor the memory of the people who were there to fight for freedom and changes in our country.” Her parents, Bill and Jennifer Henry, also were present.
She said she especially studied the various quotes by Dr. King inscribed along the path leading to his memorial. “It speaks volumes of his legacy, and of others who carry on his work,” she said.
