<p> The Catholic Diocese of South Carolina engaged in an extensive preparation program to ready the Catholic community for desegregation several years before the process occurred in 1963. After the <i>Brown v. Board of Education </i> decision, the diocese took steps to work for racial justice even though Catholics made up a small minority of the state’s population. In 1961, Bishop Paul J. Hallinan issued a Pastoral Letter that outlined the preparation process towards desegregation. The diocesan actions included integrating the first elementary school in South Carolina, challenging local politicians who were hostile to racial equality, and the development of a <i>Syllabus on Racial Justice.</i> While it took the diocese nine years to desegregate, the planning process allowed for an orderly transition. This work places the South Carolina Catholic desegregation story within the context of the struggle for and resistance to what C. Vann Woodward referred to as the Second Reconstruction.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1600167 |
| Date | 10 November 2015 |
| Creators | Egner, Harry Charles, Jr. |
| Publisher | College of Charleston |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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