Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness by Maureen H. O’Connell

Abstract

Reviewed by: Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness by Maureen H. O’Connell Donna Toliver Grimes III As the Catholic Church in the United States works to confront the scourge and sin of racism, the timeliness of Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness cannot be overstated. In the sea of contemporary books, podcasts and other platforms grappling with racism in the United States, this is a fresh scholarly exposure through one White Catholic’s personal racial exploration. It stands apart from courageous confessions about slaveholding ancestors and accounts of anxious introductions between African American and White family members. Usually, these stories are rooted in the rural South. Yet, situated in the northern city of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, this is a bold launch into racism as embedded in good families and the church we love. O’Connell’s book credibly calls out “Anti-Blackness” among Irish American Catholics, their clergy and bishops. Anti-Blackness adds a fine point to the race discussions that we need today in our Catholic [End Page 65] parishes, schools, houses of formation, and organizations; in our families; and between God and ourselves. If we seem to upgrade racism jargon every few years, this book demonstrates that “Anti-Blackness” lays hands on the heart of the matter. Help us, Holy Spirit! Beginning with Irish Catholic sacramentality as a basis for racial reconciliation is intriguing and raised a few questions. Do twenty-first century Irish American Catholics harbor memories of their ancestors’ penitential ritual of rounding (14)? How could rounding or other lament practices serve Irish/White Catholics today? Gardeners and farmers may relate to the author’s detailed grafting metaphor as a description of becoming White Americans (62). Technical descriptions of the grafting process reveal the growth of Anti-Black posturing happening in the family, church, and society concurrently. Although excellent research could not reconstruct ancestors’ racial decisions, it offers sufficient indications that racial issues were among the concerns of five generations who ultimately chose group and self-interest over alliances with African Americans. New immigrants who were Irish and Catholic learned from their priests, employers, and preceding arrivals that “[W]hite disputes could be more easily settled if there were Black bodies on the bargaining table” (48). Is the above quote more or less relevant today? Is racial mercy a form of unearned grace? How is racial mercy related to others in “their chaos”? What spiritual practices open us to receive God’s racial mercy? The Upper Room of Whiteness begs the question of interactions with the women, children and maybe servants off-stage in that sanctuary? How is the hopeful message of our call for more than “being good and giving back” being activated? Donna Toliver Grimes United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Copyright © 2022 American Catholic Historical Society