(Lincoln Rice, one of our Workers, recently published a book called Healing the Racial Divide. The book examines the life of Arthur Falls, the focus of this month’s article. The book is available at major online booksellers.)
In the annals of Catholic Worker history, Arthur Falls is best known as the person who suggested to Dorothy Day in November 1933 that she should change the Catholic Worker masthead to feature both a black and white worker instead of two white workers. The next issue of the paper in December 1933 incorporated his idea.
Arthur Falls (1901-2000) was black Catholic physician who founded the first Catholic Worker in Chicago in 1936. Unlike any other Catholic Workers at the time, it did not offer hospitality and had no intention of doing so. Falls founded a Catholic Worker school, which utilized the first tenet of Peter Maurin’s social vision, roundtable discussions. The other two being houses of hospitality and farming communes. Falls brought people together of different religious, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds to discuss solutions to the Great Depression and racism. Many in those early discussion groups would go on to be involved with racial justice. For example, Edward Marciniak (d. 2004) would serve on Cardinal Stritch’s Catholic Interracial Council and during the 1960s he served as the executive director for the City of Chicago’s Commission on Human (Race) Relations.
After playing a pivotal formational role in early Catholic Worker movement, Falls integrated the all white Chicago suburb of Western Springs in 1953. He would live there until shortly after his wife died in 1988. But before he could break ground on his new home, a group of city residents persuaded the Park District to confiscate Falls’s property to build a new park. Falls won that court case and built his home, and it was the first time that black family successfully resisted a case of eminent domain that had the intention of protecting segregation.
Falls was able to reframe the basic truths of the Christian faith in a way that unleashed their prophetic power. He referred to those Catholics who promoted segregation in Chicago as believers in the “mythical” body of Christ as opposed to the mystical body of Christ. The “mythical” body of Christ is a heretical doctrine that excludes African Americans and promotes the delusion that white people are the normative measure of the Catholic faith.
In 1961, Falls and nine other black physicians sued almost every hospital corporation in Chicago (including almost every Catholic one) for excluding African Americans doctors from practicing in those institutions and harming their livelihood. By early 1964, almost every hospital agreed to subject itself to a board that black physicians could appeal to if not hired on the basis of their race. Chicago hospitals were swiftly integrated and the board was never needed.
Falls utilized the Catholic Worker movement to form the intellectual and spiritual lives of many Chicago Catholics. He devoted almost his whole life to attacking racial injustice with direct actions that had clear goals. Sometimes he was successful and at other times he failed, but he was always hopeful. He was fond of saying, “if you are right, you don’t always lose." ----Lincoln Rice
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. … I’m committed to nonviolence absolutely. I am just not going to kill anybody, whether it’s in Vietnam or here…If nonviolent protest fails this summer, I will continue to preach and teach it…I plan to stand by nonviolence…(because) only a refusal to hate or kill can put an end to the chain of violence in the world and lead toward community where people live together without fear." ---Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“All through history it has been the nations that have given the most to the generals and the least to the people that have been the first to fall.” ----Harry Truman
JOKES
What do you get when you put overweight sheep in a steam cabinet? Wool sweaters! Don’t be a Freud to laugh; it keeps you Yung.
A fisherman was stopped by a game warden recently with two ice chests full of fish. The game warden asked him for his license to fish. The fisherman said, “There’s no need for me to have a fishing license since I don’t fish. These fish in the chests are my pets.” The warden said, “Pet fish? “ “Yeah, every night I take these here fish down to the lake and let ‘em swim around for a while. Then, when I whistle they jump right back into these chests, and I take ‘em home. I’ll show you, Mr. Warden.” The fisherman poured the fish into the lake and stood and waited. After several minutes, the warden says, “Well, when are you going to call them back?” “Call who back? “The fish,” replied the warden. “What fish?”, replied the fisherman.
Fishing in a boat one day, two guys see a bottle float by. The one in the back picks up the bottle and pulls out the cork. A genie appears and says, “Since you freed me from the bottle, I’ll give you one wish.” The guy in front blurts out, “I wish the lake would turn into beer.” Just like that, the lake is all beer. “Way to go,” the guy in the back says angrily. “Now we got to pee in the boat!”
I’ve been told that when you meet the right person, you know immediately. How come when you meet the wrong person, it takes a year and a half? I knew I was going bald when it was taking me longer and longer to wash my face.
What’s the difference between a Jew and a Christian? Jews get very angry. A Christian gets a little cross.
A drag queen walks into a Catholic church as the priest is coming down the aisle swinging his incense pot. And he says to the priest, “Oh, honey, I love your dress, but did you know your handbag is on fire? A guy stumbles out of a bar and vomits all over a rat and thinks to himself, “Whoa, I don’t remember eating that.
INTERESTING FACTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
THURS. FEB. 5 ------STOP DEPORATIONS AND SEPARATING FAMILIES VIGIL at ICE headquarters, Knapp St. & Broadway St., Milw. From noon to 1 p.m.
SUN., FEB. 8---BENEFIT FOR CASA MARIA CATHOLIC WORKER at The Coffee House, 631 N. 19th St., Milw. Starting at 7 p.m. A number of musicians will be performing together. Come, and enjoy the fun and the music. Donate what you can.
THURS., FEB. 12 ----STAND FOR NONVIOLENCE at Brew City Shooters’ Supply, 43rd & Lincoln Ave., Milw. From Noon to 1 p.m.
Guns are made to do violence. Those who buy guns are saying that they believe violence is an acceptable behavior. We ask people to act nonviolently.
THURS., FEB. 19 ---- A STAND FOR NONVIOLENCE at Marquette U., 16th & Wisconsin Ave., Milw. From Noon to 1 p.m. A school that calls itself a Christian school may not teach students how to fight and do violence to one’s enemies, in violation of Christ’s teaching.
For other peace events, please contact Peace Action Wisconsin and Network for Justice and Peace or Coalition for Justice. Thanks!
HOUSE NEEDS: BATH TOWELS, CHILDRENS’ CLOTHING, HATS, GLOVES; CEREAL, JUICE, DIAPERS, BABY FORMULA, VOLUNTEERS AND PRAYERS. WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR A MINI VAN TO HELP US PICK UP ITEMS AND TRANSPORT COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND GUESTS. MANY THANKS TO ALL THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO ENABLE US TO HELP THE NEEDY.
STARTING IN FEBRUARY, OUR WEEKLY PRAYER SERVICE WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAYS AT 7 P.M. rather than on Wednesdays. We welcome those who wish to join us for prayer and songs.
NOTES FROM 21ST STREET: I saw the movie, “Selma”, yesterday. It was very good, but it could not show the great courage and faith of the African Americans working for their rights in the south. To face such vitriolic hatred of the white establishment without any weapons but with the knowledge of the truth and rightness of their struggle is awe inspiring. The movie brought home again the power of nonviolence. When others see people persecuted unjustly there is a change of heart. That is what happened in the south. I had two small babies when I viewed on the television what was being done to the black people in the south. I remember crying and gazing in horror at what was occurring. It changed my heart. I no longer could turn away from injustices done to others or to our environment. Nonviolence is not for the weak or fearful. Nonviolent action takes courage, and it can make changes in others that will last a lifetime. The struggle continues; police violence against young black men, restriction of voting rights and work for a just wage. We must all join in the nonviolent struggle for justice for all people. Peace, Roberta
In the annals of Catholic Worker history, Arthur Falls is best known as the person who suggested to Dorothy Day in November 1933 that she should change the Catholic Worker masthead to feature both a black and white worker instead of two white workers. The next issue of the paper in December 1933 incorporated his idea.
Arthur Falls (1901-2000) was black Catholic physician who founded the first Catholic Worker in Chicago in 1936. Unlike any other Catholic Workers at the time, it did not offer hospitality and had no intention of doing so. Falls founded a Catholic Worker school, which utilized the first tenet of Peter Maurin’s social vision, roundtable discussions. The other two being houses of hospitality and farming communes. Falls brought people together of different religious, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds to discuss solutions to the Great Depression and racism. Many in those early discussion groups would go on to be involved with racial justice. For example, Edward Marciniak (d. 2004) would serve on Cardinal Stritch’s Catholic Interracial Council and during the 1960s he served as the executive director for the City of Chicago’s Commission on Human (Race) Relations.
After playing a pivotal formational role in early Catholic Worker movement, Falls integrated the all white Chicago suburb of Western Springs in 1953. He would live there until shortly after his wife died in 1988. But before he could break ground on his new home, a group of city residents persuaded the Park District to confiscate Falls’s property to build a new park. Falls won that court case and built his home, and it was the first time that black family successfully resisted a case of eminent domain that had the intention of protecting segregation.
Falls was able to reframe the basic truths of the Christian faith in a way that unleashed their prophetic power. He referred to those Catholics who promoted segregation in Chicago as believers in the “mythical” body of Christ as opposed to the mystical body of Christ. The “mythical” body of Christ is a heretical doctrine that excludes African Americans and promotes the delusion that white people are the normative measure of the Catholic faith.
In 1961, Falls and nine other black physicians sued almost every hospital corporation in Chicago (including almost every Catholic one) for excluding African Americans doctors from practicing in those institutions and harming their livelihood. By early 1964, almost every hospital agreed to subject itself to a board that black physicians could appeal to if not hired on the basis of their race. Chicago hospitals were swiftly integrated and the board was never needed.
Falls utilized the Catholic Worker movement to form the intellectual and spiritual lives of many Chicago Catholics. He devoted almost his whole life to attacking racial injustice with direct actions that had clear goals. Sometimes he was successful and at other times he failed, but he was always hopeful. He was fond of saying, “if you are right, you don’t always lose." ----Lincoln Rice
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. … I’m committed to nonviolence absolutely. I am just not going to kill anybody, whether it’s in Vietnam or here…If nonviolent protest fails this summer, I will continue to preach and teach it…I plan to stand by nonviolence…(because) only a refusal to hate or kill can put an end to the chain of violence in the world and lead toward community where people live together without fear." ---Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“All through history it has been the nations that have given the most to the generals and the least to the people that have been the first to fall.” ----Harry Truman
JOKES
What do you get when you put overweight sheep in a steam cabinet? Wool sweaters! Don’t be a Freud to laugh; it keeps you Yung.
A fisherman was stopped by a game warden recently with two ice chests full of fish. The game warden asked him for his license to fish. The fisherman said, “There’s no need for me to have a fishing license since I don’t fish. These fish in the chests are my pets.” The warden said, “Pet fish? “ “Yeah, every night I take these here fish down to the lake and let ‘em swim around for a while. Then, when I whistle they jump right back into these chests, and I take ‘em home. I’ll show you, Mr. Warden.” The fisherman poured the fish into the lake and stood and waited. After several minutes, the warden says, “Well, when are you going to call them back?” “Call who back? “The fish,” replied the warden. “What fish?”, replied the fisherman.
Fishing in a boat one day, two guys see a bottle float by. The one in the back picks up the bottle and pulls out the cork. A genie appears and says, “Since you freed me from the bottle, I’ll give you one wish.” The guy in front blurts out, “I wish the lake would turn into beer.” Just like that, the lake is all beer. “Way to go,” the guy in the back says angrily. “Now we got to pee in the boat!”
I’ve been told that when you meet the right person, you know immediately. How come when you meet the wrong person, it takes a year and a half? I knew I was going bald when it was taking me longer and longer to wash my face.
What’s the difference between a Jew and a Christian? Jews get very angry. A Christian gets a little cross.
A drag queen walks into a Catholic church as the priest is coming down the aisle swinging his incense pot. And he says to the priest, “Oh, honey, I love your dress, but did you know your handbag is on fire? A guy stumbles out of a bar and vomits all over a rat and thinks to himself, “Whoa, I don’t remember eating that.
INTERESTING FACTS
- Some 40% of paper products end up in the trash. Some 30% of trees end up as paper products. ----EcoWatch A man named Jeff Mizanskey has been in jail since 1933, serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his involvement in a small marijuana deal. Having never committed a violent crime, he is one of 40,000 Americans doing anywhere from 1 year to life in state and federal prisons on pot charges. ----N.P.R
- The richest 1% of the world have more than the rest of humanity combined.. -----Oxfam America
- A recent pipeline rupture in Eastern Montana spilled up to 3 million gallons of Bakken shale crude oil into the Yellowstone River has local residents worried that their water supplies may now be contaminated. ----Common Dreams, 1/22/15
- Radioactive water leaked from a tank at an Alabama nuclear plant, releasing tritium into the environment. A drain line leaked 100 to 200 gallons of water containing tritium levels above “acceptable” drinking water standards. ---The Chattanooga Times Free Press, 1/12/15
- The CIA killed prisoners, and made it look like suicide at Guantanamo Bay prison. According to a prison guard there; Salah Ahmed Al-Salami ( 37) ,from Yemen, Mani Shaman Al-Utaybi ( 30), from Saudi Arabia and Yasser Talal from another mid-eastern nation, were all killed by the CIA at the prison. The prisoners were never charged or tried for any crime. No one from the CIA were held accountable for these killings .---CLG, 1/19/15
- A Military contractor named Leonard Glenn Francis pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of fraud and bribery for his role in a scheme intended to fleece the U.S. Navy; that is, taxpayers, of over $100 million. None of the military involved in this scheme were charged with a crime. ----WSWS.org. 1/19/15
- The Keystone XL pipeline, like all oil industry projects, is to be given substantial taxpayer subsidies. According to conservative estimates, the U.S. taxpayer is subsidizing these investments to the tune of $1.0-1.8 billion. ---Oil Change International
- Since Nov.2013, the number of people employed in the solar industry grew by 87% and now employs 173,907, but it is subsidized by the government far less than the fossil fuel industry.. -----Solar Foundation
- The U.N. has told Israel to unlock $127 million in taxes owed to the Palestinian Authority that were withheld after the Palestinians decided to join the International Criminal Court. The freeze is in violation of Oslo agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. ----Democracy Now, 2/16/15
- Last month, the Montpellier Panel, agriculture, ecology and trade experts from Africa and Europe, states that about 65% of Africa’s arable land is too damaged to sustain viable food production. ----IPS, 1/13/15
- Some $3 billion worth of weapons were recently sold to the Iraqi government military for weapons, including hellfire missiles.. This is great business for the weapons’ industry. ----Democracy Now
UPCOMING EVENTS
THURS. FEB. 5 ------STOP DEPORATIONS AND SEPARATING FAMILIES VIGIL at ICE headquarters, Knapp St. & Broadway St., Milw. From noon to 1 p.m.
SUN., FEB. 8---BENEFIT FOR CASA MARIA CATHOLIC WORKER at The Coffee House, 631 N. 19th St., Milw. Starting at 7 p.m. A number of musicians will be performing together. Come, and enjoy the fun and the music. Donate what you can.
THURS., FEB. 12 ----STAND FOR NONVIOLENCE at Brew City Shooters’ Supply, 43rd & Lincoln Ave., Milw. From Noon to 1 p.m.
Guns are made to do violence. Those who buy guns are saying that they believe violence is an acceptable behavior. We ask people to act nonviolently.
THURS., FEB. 19 ---- A STAND FOR NONVIOLENCE at Marquette U., 16th & Wisconsin Ave., Milw. From Noon to 1 p.m. A school that calls itself a Christian school may not teach students how to fight and do violence to one’s enemies, in violation of Christ’s teaching.
For other peace events, please contact Peace Action Wisconsin and Network for Justice and Peace or Coalition for Justice. Thanks!
HOUSE NEEDS: BATH TOWELS, CHILDRENS’ CLOTHING, HATS, GLOVES; CEREAL, JUICE, DIAPERS, BABY FORMULA, VOLUNTEERS AND PRAYERS. WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR A MINI VAN TO HELP US PICK UP ITEMS AND TRANSPORT COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND GUESTS. MANY THANKS TO ALL THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO ENABLE US TO HELP THE NEEDY.
STARTING IN FEBRUARY, OUR WEEKLY PRAYER SERVICE WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAYS AT 7 P.M. rather than on Wednesdays. We welcome those who wish to join us for prayer and songs.
NOTES FROM 21ST STREET: I saw the movie, “Selma”, yesterday. It was very good, but it could not show the great courage and faith of the African Americans working for their rights in the south. To face such vitriolic hatred of the white establishment without any weapons but with the knowledge of the truth and rightness of their struggle is awe inspiring. The movie brought home again the power of nonviolence. When others see people persecuted unjustly there is a change of heart. That is what happened in the south. I had two small babies when I viewed on the television what was being done to the black people in the south. I remember crying and gazing in horror at what was occurring. It changed my heart. I no longer could turn away from injustices done to others or to our environment. Nonviolence is not for the weak or fearful. Nonviolent action takes courage, and it can make changes in others that will last a lifetime. The struggle continues; police violence against young black men, restriction of voting rights and work for a just wage. We must all join in the nonviolent struggle for justice for all people. Peace, Roberta