Here in South Carolina we have both Dominicans and Klansmen, but so far there haven’t been any social media panics. I did have a rural Russian Orthodox deacon tell me once that the people at the IGA think he’s with the Klan.
But we Catholics know these problems are preventable. Here are our top three tips for how to keep anyone from thinking your Dominicans are really KKK:
1. Have Them Found an African-American Parish. Try to do it during the height of Jim Crow if you can. Nothin’ says “I’m not with the KKK” like running an affordable private school that’s been the incubator for generations of business and community leaders in the backyard of two historically Black colleges.
2. Import Them from Africa. The KKK’s not exactly flush with big friendly Nigerian guys who break out in love songs to the Blessed Mother.
3. Put a Veil on ‘Em. You might be wondering, is that a Klansperson or a Catholic nun reading I am a Little Caterpillar to those kindergartners in plaid jumpers? Check the headgear in order to get it straight.
Good luck!
PS: None of this will help you in Spain during Holy Week, as Simcha Fisher’s must-read field guide explains. You’ll have to use little contextual cues like, “I am in Spain during Holy Week,” to assist in that case.
Photo of Jesuit who dresses Dominican courtesy by Fczarnowski (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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