Vocation and Racial Discrimination in Campus Ministry

Abstract

In the literature on spirituality in higher education, vocation may be considered in terms of surrendering oneself and one’s work to God. But what happens when broader societal dynamics– such as racial discrimination–constrain one’s spiritual work? How do social factors constrict or even extinguish vocational discernment or fulfillment? I explore these questions through an historical case study of the first Black Episcopal campus ministry in the United States called St. Michael and All Angels, affiliated with the historically Black and gender-mixed Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College, located in Tallahassee, Florida. I identify two forms of racial discrimination constraining the success of the Black pastors to claim their religious vocations. The first is individual discrimination evidenced by the bishop’s unequal allocation of money to the campus ministries. Second is societal racism/ hate crimes, manifested through the words and deeds of the Ku Klux Klan against the deacons and priests at St. Michael. The paper argues the need for a nuanced understanding of the societal-level forces that can constrain one’s ability to claim one’s vocation.