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Black Theology Class Fosters Deep Engagement and Community Outreach

It’s not often one finds a college course in which students who are not enrolled choose to sit in week after week, let alone a course in which students stay 20 minutes after class because they’re so engaged in discussion. But that’s the case with Black Theology, a new community engagement course at ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼ taught by Craig Ford (Theology and Religious Studies).

“We created such a good community in this class,” says Jo Mahlum ’26. “When I participate in these very dense and deep conversations, I feel comfort in the uncomfortable with my fellow classmates talking about these very important topics.”

Topics covered included African religious expression, slave and African American Christianity, African-American history, and black philosophical perspectives.

“A large part of the class is not just to gain a knowledge and understanding of Black experiences and Black theology, but also teaching us how we go out into our very white college and white communities to have difficult conversations about race, oppression and injustice,” says Scotlyn Roemhild ’26.

Foundation for the class began prior to the start of the spring semester. For those enrolled in the course who could take part, a J-term trip to historical sites in Alabama was offered. The group of 15 included Ford and Derek Elkins (Sturzl Center).

“We spent the majority of our time in Montgomery and Birmingham visiting museums and civil rights sites. We also visited Selma and walked over the (Edmund Pettus Bridge) as African Americans did during the civil rights movement,” says Roemhild. “Dr. Ford really wanted us to emerge ourselves in Black/African American culture, to get a taste of Black theology. So we attended a Black Catholic Mass at the church where we were staying.”

The ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼ group took part in a social justice dinner where community members shared their experiences during the civil rights movement. Among those who spoke was Doris Crenshaw, who served in social activism with Rosa Parks.

“We had time for individual reflection and then large group reflection, which was really beneficial,” says Roemhild. “A lot of what we were seeing and learning about was even more impactful because we were in the very spot where those atrocities occurred hundreds of years ago. The Legacy Museum (in Montgomery) is built on top of where slave barracks used to be during the Atlantic slave trade.”

Community engagement for the class involved four different groups working with a northeast Wisconsin area pastor and congregation.

Mahlum’s group worked with Pastor Josh Fite and the community at St. John Lutheran Church in Ashwaubenon, Wis.

“We spent a lot of time getting to know the congregation members, where they are with their anti-racist journey in their church, how far they are looking to go, what steps are realistic for us to accomplish together,” says Mahlum, who did not make the J-term trip because she plays for the St. Norbert women’s hockey team. “We performed a lot of interviews with groups connected to the church and individual congregation members as well.”

The group’s main project was a presentation following worship services.

“The main topic of our presentations was looking at all the representations of Jesus and how Jesus would stand with the oppressed,” says Mahlum.

Group members shared their own personal experiences, described as “aha moments” with the congregation, followed by a question-and-answer session.

“(My aha moment) came from my background growing up in a Catholic school system that is predominately white, and how I may not have been personally discriminating against someone to my knowledge, I also wasn’t actively trying to stop the society that I lived in from doing those things,” says Mahlum.

Roemhild’s group worked with Pastor Rachel Knoke and Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Green Bay.

“The hope was that we would create a project that would engage the congregation in discussion of themes from the class — injustice and racism,” she explains. “We did a workshop on color blindness following a church service. It was discussion based with a lot of back and forth. We also left the congregation handouts with suggestions for reading and documentaries.”

Both Roemhild and Mahlum say they are hopeful that the congregations continue their social activism journeys. They credit Ford for the environment he fostered in the Black Theology class.

“We all sit in a circle. Everyone goes around and shares how they are doing, their weekend, their day. I think that is so essential in grounding us,” says Roemhild. “We have different opinions on how racial justice can be achieved. What we are all united by is our desire to learn and grow alongside each other.”

June 19, 2024