Jesuits as the Great Stumbling Block
In his 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. described white moderates as “the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom” (King, 1963). In King’s estimation, white moderates–people of general good will who did not oppose the struggle of Black Americans for civil rights but instead remained apathetic to it or inactive in it–presented a greater obstacle on the road toward racial equality than members of the Ku Klux Klan. Unfortunately, the majority of American Jesuits during the early civil rights era, particularly those in positions of power, fell into this troublesome category (Homan, 2020). It is this environment in which John Markoe worked for change.
“As Jesuits have sought people to fix . . . we have sought a half justice, one that begins to improve lives but never taking a step far enough to vacate our own authority and comfort. We fear reprisal. We maintain order. We are moderate” (Homan, 2020).
As white moderates, the Jesuits prioritized order over justice. Pastors of local churches and administrators of large universities alike feared integration would ignite a period of white flight and divestment (Homan, 2020). They did not want to offend white Catholics and disrupt the status quo. Most American Jesuits recoiled from direct action because it highlighted the underlying tension festering beneath the facade of a pleasant society. As white men, Jesuits could ignore the tension that consumed Black Catholics’ every waking hour. They “remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows” (King, 1963).
If some Jesuits expressed any support for the pursuit of racial equality, other Jesuits quickly followed that with a reminder to be patient. They fit King’s white moderate mold by “paternalistically” setting “the timetable for another man’s freedom” (King, 1963). In urging patience, Jesuits divulged their belief that change was inevitable. But without action, “time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation” (King, 1963).
Those Jesuits who chose not to look away and took part in direct action were met with opposition. Seen as civil rights “agitators,” these men were often reassigned by their superiors to less influential positions in locations farther North. The superiors believed that these new, northern locations presented fewer opportunities for activism on behalf of Black Catholics. They did not consider the fact that the Catholic Church was segregated throughout the United States, not just in the South.
Following his outspoken support for the integration of Saint Louis University in southern Missouri, Fr. Markoe was relocated north to Creighton University in Omaha, NE. That didn’t stop his crusade for interracial justice. “Everyone fights on the battlefield he’s allotted, and for Father John Markoe, the arena became Omaha” (Markoe Papers, B4 F25).
Despite the valiant efforts of priests like Fr. Markoe, the predominant Jesuit mindset during the civil rights era is best summed up by their frequent referral to “the Negro problem.” (Homan, 2020). This wording betrayed an utter lack of respect for Black Americans. It portrayed them as a problem to be solved rather than a valuable facet of the United States and the Catholic Church to be fully embraced.