Malcolm X: Directions for 21st Century Religious Thought and Activism

Rev. Bryan Massingale, STD, will lead the Wilber Symposium on the Christian Tradition and Nonviolence. Massingale specializes in social ethics with a focus on Catholic Social Teaching, liberation theologies, African American religious ethics, and racial justice.

Fr. Massingale will discuss "What did Malcolm X leave as a legacy and what value does he have if "Race Stlll Matters" in 2013?" Malcolm X has generated a unique contribution to thought and activism-not because he left buildings or monuments, but because he left "transformed minds." Overcoming the self-hatred of racial minorities and religious majorities listening well to the "voices of the victimized" are steps along the way of true racial justice in the 21st century."

Fr. Massingale is professor of Theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee, and received his doctorate in moral theology from the Academia Alphonsianum in Rome. He teaches courses on Catholic Social Thought, African American religious ethics, liberation theologies, and racial justice. Specializing in social ethics, he "focuses upon the impact of religious faith as both an instrument of social injustice and a catalyst for social transformation."

He is the author of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church (Orbis, 2010), which received a first place book award from the Catholic Press Association. He also has authored over seventy articles, book chapters, and book reviews appearing in both scholarly and pastoral journals. His current research projects explore the contribution of Black religious radicalism to Catholic theology, including "Malcolm X and the Limits of 'Authentically Black and Truly Catholic:' A Research Project in Black Radicalism and Black Catholic Faith," Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium 5 (2011).

A former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, he also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Moral Theology and the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics. Fr. Massingale is the recipient of two honorary doctorates, and also received Marquette University's highest award for teaching excellence in 2009.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Professor Massingale strives to be a scholar-activist through serving faith-based groups advancing justice in society. He is a noted authority on issues of social and racial justice, having addressed numerous national Catholic conferences and lectured at colleges and universities across the nation. He has served as a consultant to the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops and has been honored for his advocacy for social justice and his work for inclusion of the socially marginalized.

Fr. Massingale's recent work applies Catholic social thought to the issues of affirmative action, racial reconciliation, environmental justice, HIV/AIDS stigma, racism post-Katrina (and now, post-Obama), and the challenge of peacemaking in an age of terrorism.

Following the lecture a reception and book signing will be held. Copies of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church will be available for purchase.

The Wilber Symposium on the Christian Tradition and Nonviolence is made possible through a gift from Charles K. and Mary Ellen Wilber, of South Bend, Ind. The Wilbers are supporters of the Peter Claver Catholic Worker House in South Bend and other peace and social justice initiatives.

The Rogalski Center is located on the corner of Ripley and Lombard Streets, one block west of Harrison Street.

Father Massingale's website