Racism as a Life Issue
The Notre Dame Office of Life and Human Dignity and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles collaborated to develop lessons on racism and racial justice for Respect Life month. These resources are part of the wider Teaching Human Dignity series, which seeks to incorporate issues of life and human dignity across the subject areas and engage students in learning experiences that are transformative. The lessons included in this special series can be integrated in Social Studies, Language Arts, and Theology classes.
Black Catholic Saints
This lesson invites students to reflect on the lives of two of the Black Catholic saints-in-waiting, Fr. Augustus Tolton and Sr. Thea Bowman — the reality of racism, their experiences being both Black and Catholic, and their growth in holiness.
History of Anti-Black Racism, Racial Justice, and the Catholic Church
In this lesson, students have the opportunity to investigate historical and contemporary events of anti-Black racism and the struggle toward racial justice in the United States in light of Catholic teaching on racism.
Human Dignity and the Sin of Racism
This lesson approaches historical and contemporary racism by asking the fundamental question, “What does it mean to see human dignity?” Students are invited to engage with Scripture, historical texts, and current events through the lens of human dignity and to reflect on and discuss the personal and structural realities of racism. To access the PowerPoint presentation, please click here.
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