In the 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed, Catholics have grown from a tiny minority into a major force in American life, especially in the field of education. Now is a fitting and urgent time— and Philadelphia a fitting place— for Catholic schools to embrace a leadership role in making the sacred affirmation of human equality enshrined in our founding document a living reality in the United States, especially for our young people.

This symposium will invite 150 educators from Catholic elementary and secondary schools across the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to participate in a day of prayer, learning, networking and active engagement with classroom-ready materials on racial healing. Mentoring by seasoned educators for teachers, departments or schools who adopt those materials will be provided for a sustained period following the symposium.

Our keynote speaker is Dr Marcia Chatelain, professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, previously at Georgetown University. An active public speaker, Chatelain has received awards and honors from the Ford Foundation, the American Association of University Women, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. During her twelve years at at Georgetown University, Chatelain won several awards for her teaching and university service, including the 2022 Georgetown Black Alumni Council Distinguished Leader Award, the 2021 Georgetown Alumni James S. Ruby Faculty Appreciation Award, and in 2018, a Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professorship, among others. In 2016, The Chronicle of Higher Education named her a Top Influencer in academia in recognition of her social media campaign #FergusonSyllabus, which implored educators to facilitate discussions about the crisis in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. She has held an Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fellowship at New America, a National Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Fellowship, and an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship.  A graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia in Journalism and Religious Studies, Chatelain was a 2000 Harry S Truman Scholar, and she earned an A.M. and a Ph.D. in American Civilization from Brown University.

View Dr. Chatelain’s photo and learn about her publications here.

The convener of the symposium is New Encounters: Catholics Confronting Racism, an independent organization partnered with Cranaleith Spiritual Center, an apostolic work of the Sisters of Mercy, and supported in part by a donor-advised grant at the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia. The Mission Foundation of the Sisters of St Joseph of Chestnut Hill has made a generous grant to support New Encounters' "America at 250" symposium for educators. New Encounters works regularly with offices in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and offers online and in-person programs that promote encounter, formation and action directed toward personal and institutional racial healing. Their programs draw deeply from the wellsprings of Catholic scriptures, sacraments, sacred seasons and saints—always guided by the Holy Spirit.

For further information, contact Dr Mary Laver at newencounterscatholics@gmail.com