Featured Writing & Speaking

Black women in America have had a complicated—and often painful—relationship with childbirth for centuries. During slavery, Black women were forced to perform intensive labor throughout their pregnancies, and their infants were 1.6 times more likely to die during their first year compared to White infants. Many early gynecological advancements like cesarean sections were made by White doctors who used Black women as test subjects, usually without pain medicine or consent. Many Black women could not even rest in peace after their death due to their cadavers being used for all kinds of degrading and dehumanizing experimentation in White medical schools. Continue reading

We are living in a time when self-professed Catholics are not only turning a blind eye to evil, but have elected and are supporting President Donald Trump, who is against diversity, against immigrants, against the poor, and seeks to destroy the multiracial democracy that was hard fought and won by the sweat and blood of African Americans and progressives in the United States.  Continue reading

Last April, my husband and I visited a prison in Globe, Arizona—a powerful experience that brought to life everything I had been working toward and learning about for years. I’d spent countless hours corresponding with incarcerated pen pals, exploring the complexities of incarceration in my writing, and delving into courses on restorative justice and trauma. Still, I didn’t know what to expect as we walked into the event space, where 65 incarcerated men stood in two long lines, forming a tunnel with raised arms to welcome us. As we ran through, the men cheered, high-fived us, and smiled warmly. My apprehension soon disappeared, and I was able to enjoy a full day of connecting with these men, learning about their life stories, and realizing I had far more in common with them than I would have otherwise imagined. Continue reading

As a Black Catholic woman, mother and author, I am devastated but not at all surprised by this country electing Donald Trump as president for a second term… I do not believe I will see the end of racism or sexism in my lifetime. I do not believe that the American dream is attainable for everyone who simply “works hard enough.” Yet my faith in a God who is always on the side of the oppressed, marginalized and persecuted will remain unchanged. God will continue to liberate, to care for and to love everyone, without exception — even when the majority of Americans choose not to. I will hold fast to my faith in such a God because, to paraphrase the great Black gospel artist Donnie McClurkin, when you’ve given your all and there’s nothing left to do: just stand. Continue reading

Readers harboring even a minimal compunction for societal failings such as racism, white superiority, inequality and the absence of simple Christian charity might rightly be troubled by Alessandra Harris’s new work, In the Shadow of Freedom. Bolstered by extensive research and passionate prose, Harris makes a compelling argument for Catholics in particular to pay more heed to reconciliation and healing for the racist history of the United States. Continue reading

Alessandra Harris, a Black Catholic writer and longtime racial justice advocate, has consistently been a firebrand on topics such as the prison industrial complex and racial justice for Black Americans. Whether through her influential social media presence that highlights issues related to the restorative justice movement, or her raising awareness about the intersection of race, gender, and class, she is a much-needed voice for how Black Americans achieve every iota of justice that’s owed to them.. Continue reading

For many Americans, July Fourth is a day of celebration marked by fireworks, parades, barbecues, fairs, baseball games and various political ceremonies offered in remembrance of the country’s declaration of sovereignty from British colonial rule. For the “founding fathers,” the Declaration of Independence asserted particular freedoms for its citizens, specifically that “all men are created equal,” and “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights … among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”Continue reading

The dedication to Harris’ new book, In the Shadow of Freedom, exemplifies such a hope: “For America, that you may one day be the land of the free.” Harris’ book is a well-researched, well-argued analysis of the ways in which Black people continue to experience unfreedom in the United States. Harris, who is a Black Catholic, utilizes Catholic social teaching as well as sociology and the Black radical corpus to critique what she calls “neoslavery,” and to imagine an alternative world.

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the book and because Harris is a dynamic writer who has published both fiction and nonfiction works, In the Shadow of Freedom will have broad appeal to all audiences. I sat down with Harris to discuss her book, her faith, and what it means to wish for an America where Black people — and all people — are truly free. Continue reading

It’s common to hear, “If you pray for patience, God will give you an experience where you’ll be forced to be patient, like being stuck in a massive traffic jam on the freeway,” or, “If you pray for humility, God will give you an experience where you are humbled (or even humiliated).” I’m now wondering if those warnings extend to writing a book! Continue reading.

In The Catholic Church and the Struggle for Racial Justice: A Prophetic Call, Mathew Kappadakunnel offers a unique perspective as a first-generation American of South Indian descent, who is a member of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Continue reading.

The First Time I Heard A Homily on Racism I am looking forward to the fifth annual Black History Month mass organized by the Diocese of San José’s Catholics of African Descent that will take place on February 25th at St. Frances Cabrini Church. When I attended the mass last year, Bishop Oscar Cantú gave an inspiring homily that particularly impacted me as an African American Catholic. Bishop Cantú spoke about the painful history of racism toward African Americans, from slavery to injustice today, and called racism a wound in the Body of Christ. That marked the first time I had heard a Catholic homily on racism in the Diocese of San José, though I was born and raised here. Continue reading.

Black Jesus and his Black followers come to life in ‘The Book of Clarence’ The late Rev. James Cone, known as the father of Black liberation theology, stated in his book God of the Oppressed that God is Black. “Christ is black, therefore, not because of some cultural or psychological need of black people, but because and only because Christ really enters into our world where the poor, the despised, and the black are, disclosing that he is with them, enduring their humiliation and pain and transforming oppressed slaves into liberated servants.” Continue Reading

The Myth of Black Morality, the Black Family, and Mass Incarceration by Alessandra Harris. People who depict the rate of Black births outside of marriage as a moral failure misunderstand the real reasons for American racial inequality. Continue reading.

The death penalty in the US is modern-day Lynching by Alessandra Harris. Keith LaMar released his first album, with pianist Albert Marquès, in 2022. The two received an award for the project and the following year LaMar was a featured narrator for “The Healing Project” at Carnegie Hall. He is an author, advocate and performer, but what is most remarkable is that LaMar has accomplished all these feats from his prison cell on death row in Ohio.I first met LaMar in 2021 for an in-depth, three-part interview published on the Black Catholic Messenger website. Continue reading.

Alessandra Harris, author of the Last Place Seen, is interviewed by Robert Justice. Listen here.