{"id":2245,"date":"2013-02-08T11:03:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-08T11:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/knights-of-columbus-celebrate-history-of-breaking-down-racial-barriers\/"},"modified":"2013-02-08T11:03:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T11:03:00","slug":"knights-of-columbus-celebrate-history-of-breaking-down-racial-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/02\/knights-of-columbus-celebrate-history-of-breaking-down-racial-barriers\/","title":{"rendered":"Knights of Columbus celebrate history of breaking down racial barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

New Haven, Conn., Feb 8, 2013 \/ 04:03 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- During Black History Month, the Knights of Columbus are noting the Catholic organization's \u201cforward-thinking\u201d attitudes towards racial equality long before they were popular.<\/p>\n

\tAndrew Walther, Vice President for Communications and Media at the Knights of Columbus, told CNA the Catholic fraternal organization \u201ctook stands for racial equality in ways that were really stunning, when you think of the 1920s or the 1910s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Knights of Columbus' first African-American member joined the Order in Massachusetts in the 1890s, less than two decades after its founding.<\/p>\n

\tWalther attributed this openness to the organization\u2019s understanding that everyone could contribute as \u201cimportant members of society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe policy in the Knights of Columbus from the top-down was always in favor of racial harmony and inclusion,\u201d Walther said. \u201cI think the Knights of Columbus was far ahead of its time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tDuring World War I, the Knights of Columbus hosted racially integrated rest and recreation facilities for troops in Europe, when no other social service organizations were integrated.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe were the only ones that were opening the doors to everybody,\u201d Walther noted. \u201cThirty years before the army integrated, we were integrating the army.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn 1924, decades before the Civil Rights Movement, the Knights of Columbus published the African-American scholar W.E.B. Du Bois\u2019 book \u201cThe Gift of Black Folk,\u201d which focused on black contributions to American life from the time of the earliest colonial settlements.<\/p>\n

\tThe book was part of a series that included \u201cThe Jews in the Making of America\u201d by George Cohen and \u201cThe Germans in the Making of America\u201d by Frederick Schrader.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThose groups were also often overlooked or looked down upon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tThe Knights of Columbus was founded in New Haven, Conn. in 1882 as a Catholic fraternal and charitable organization during a time when Catholics faced suspicion and hostility.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThere was a fear of Catholics, both in terms of their religion, in terms of the immigrant aspect,\u201d Walther recounted. \u201cThe Knights of Columbus grew up helping people on the margins of society, helping industrial factory workers to protect their faith and protect their community and the financial viability of their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe nativist, racist Ku Klux Klan rose to prominence in the 1920s, targeting Catholics along with blacks and Jews. The Klan burned crosses to protest the presidential run of Catholic \u2013 and Knight of Columbus \u2013 Al Smith and passed an Oregon school law that banned Catholic education in the state of Oregon, though the law was later ruled unconstitutional in a Supreme Court case funded by the Knights of Columbus.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWith that kind of a backdrop, it wasn\u2019t a great leap to wanting to make sure the country understood the importance of the various groups that have helped to make this country great,\u201d Walther said.<\/p>\n

\tThe knights took strong action for racial integration under John W. McDevitt, its Supreme Knight from 1964-1977. When he learned that the New Orleans hotel hosting the knights\u2019 1964 Supreme Convention did not allow African Americans, he threatened to move the convention to another venue. The hotel changed its policy.<\/p>\n

\tMcDevitt also played a role in ensuring that local councils were not racially exclusive.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWhen it became apparent that some councils were not following the national policy on integration, John McDevitt really forced the issue and made it very clear that this was not going to be tolerated,\u201d Walther said.<\/p>\n

\tKnights of Columbus are involved in communities of all ethnic and racial backgrounds in the country, with African-Americans in local, state and national leadership positions.<\/p>\n

\tThe Order republished W.E.B. Du Bois\u2019 \u201cThe Gift of Black Folk\u201d in 2009 to mark the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons. The new edition has a forward by present Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, a former member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.<\/p>\n

\tWalther attributed the knights\u2019 work towards racial equality to their understanding of \u201cthe fact that all men are created equal\u201d and to their belief that \u201cnobody should be left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Knights of Columbus website is www.kofc.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Haven, Conn., Feb 8, 2013 \/ 04:03 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- During Black History Month, the Knights of Columbus are noting the Catholic organization's “forward-thinking” attitudes towards racial equality long before they were popular.<\/p>\n

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