Black Catholic Advisory Group
Mission:
The Black Catholic Advisory Group (BCAG), a subcommittee of The Joan & Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Social Thought & the Ignatian Tradition, is dedicated to fostering a vibrant and inclusive community that celebrates the unique spiritual and cultural heritage of Black Catholics. We advise leadership on matters affecting our community, advocate for justice, and promote active participation and evangelization—ensuring our voices are heard and our faith traditions are honored within the Church and the University community.
Membership:
- Sonja Martin Poole, Professor of Marketing, USF and Chair, Black Catholic Advisory Group
- Rev. B. Kwame Assenyoh, Chaplain of Saint Mary’s College, Moraga, CA
- Shawn Calhoun, Dean, Gleeson Library, USF
- Larry Chatmon - Catholic Deacon - St. Paul of the Shipwreck Parish, San Francisco
- Camille Coley, Associate Vice Provost, USF and Parishioner, St. Joan of Arc (Boca Raton, FL)
- Aja C. Holmes, Assistant Dean, USF, Parishioner, St. Ignatius Parish
- Jasmin Lashae Delaney, Neuroscience student, USF and Parishioner, All Saints
- Maria Nickens Little, Retired Middle School Science Teacher, CTA/NEA-Retired Election Chair, and Parishioner at St. Cecelia and Associate Member at St. Dominic's
- Teresa Moore, Professor, Media Studies, USF
- Dr. Jalaima Nichols, Organizational Change & Leadership Strategist, Independent Consultant, St. Columba Parish
- Kevin L. Nichols, Founder, President & CEO of The Social Engineering Project, Inc. and Parishioner of St. Columba Catholic Church in Oakland
- Cynthia Onuegbu, USF student
- Jasmin Lashae Delaney, USF student
- Timothy Simon, Esq. Trustee, USF
- Ronald Sundstrom, Professor of Philosophy, USF
Annual Event Honoring Black Catholic History Month:
This annual event is organized by the USF Community Black Catholic History Month Committee, a forum consisting of USF students, faculty and staff and Bay Area parishioners to celebrate Black Catholic history, to foster dialogue regarding issues relevant to the community. On the evening of November 30th, 2023, the Committee, in partnership with the Lane Center and Black Achievement Success and Engagement (BASE) will host renowned educator, scholar, and Catholic youth minister, Dr. Ansel Augustine.
Black Catholics were given the mandate to evangelize themselves, in the Pastoral Letter, “What We Have Seen and Heard,” written by the Black Bishops of the United States in 1984. Nearly 40 years later, what does such evangelization look like? For Black Catholics, what do we understand to be “prophetic witness”? Even more importantly, what would be the “wilderness” of our time — the wilderness that the great Black Sacred Song urges us to encounter? A copy of this recording can be accessed here.
Justice Jenkins and Trustee Timothy Simon honor the history and experiences of Black Catholics in this fireside conversation on faith, justice and community. Moderated by USF Trustee Naomi Kelly.
In this talk, Dr. Shannen Dee Williams will explore the long and rich history of Black Catholics in the United States. Paying particular attention to the leading roles played by Black women and girls in the making of U.S. Catholicism, Williams will not only highlight the Church's largely overlooked African roots, but also demonstrate why historical truth telling must guide any Catholic plan for reparation for slavery and segregation.
Does the notion of #BlackLivesMatter have any theological relevance for the Church today? If so, why does it seem like Church leaders are so silent about what catalyzed this movement in the first place? In honor of Black Catholic History Month, Dr. Shawnee Daniels-Sykes addressed these questions.