by Br. Thomas Nguyen, G.H.M. 

Br. Thomas is a brother of The Glenmary Home Missionaries, a community that ministers to rural populations in the United States. In May Br. Thomas graduated with a M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from the University of Dayton. He currently ministers to the rural people in Williamston, NC. His studies, his missionary experience, and his lived experience as a Vietnamese-American Catholic form his views. As he says, “my missionary bent makes me more sensitive to those who are marginalized in our society. The attacks on Asians during COVID have re-invigorated my zeal to fight for justice, especially racial justice. My goal is to help all people see the fullness of the scriptures which have social and spiritual impact. In order to restore justice and peace at times we have to ‘bust the wall of ignorance.’”

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity along with other Glenmary students to embark on a Civil Rights pilgrimage. This trip was important for me as a Glenmarian because the core of Glenmary’s mission is reaching out to and working with those people on the margins of society. Fr. William Howard Bishop (the founder of Glenmary) was inspired and had a clear vision of The Good Shepherd. From this he drew inspiration for his missionary group. From the very beginning Glenmary has been dedicated to the 1 percent/ “the lost sheep.” 

Due to this, many Glenmarians are concerned for the rights of marginalized people, like immigrants, Catholics (in rural America where Catholics are often a distinct minority), the poor, and others. So it made great sense for us to go on this Civil Rights pilgrimage, given that the Civil Rights Movement was very much motivated by faith, and the result was social and political action.

 During this trip we went to many sites that were significant and critical to the fight for civil rights. Rights that all people need and deserve. The fact that African-Americans had to fight for these rights in the first place is, of course, absurd, but that they had to fight for these rights highlighted the racial inequality that was (and in many ways still is) present in America. In going to these sites I learned that the fight was not just for African-Americans but all who step foot on American soil. I came to understand that without this crucial fight, no other minority group would be guaranteed their rights.

This fight “paid for” by innocent lives who were senselessly killed, killings that shed a light on the disgusting truth of racism in America. Probably the site that made an impact on me the most was the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, where four innocent black girls were made martyrs for the cause. Their blood fueled the fight for civil rights especially amongst the African-American community.

It devastates me to see a human person kill another person for the color of their skin, let alone innocent children whose only “crime” was showing up in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can’t imagine how much hate the person had in his heart to commit such an atrocious crime. Racism is evil and intolerable in general, but it sparks a certain indignant anger when one sees innocent blood! 

Though the fight against racism has not yet ceased, and possibly never will cease. This trip has added much fuel for me in my fight for justice. Looking at all the victims of lynching, ashes of dead African-Americans that blended into the soil. Innocent people whose only crime was being black! This reminded me of the struggles and sufferings of the black community not just in the past, but in the present. It reminds me as a missioner to the Southern parts of U.S. that racism still exists. In fact, in some counties that we serve, segregation still exists in certain forms. 

It reminds me and convicts me to recommit myself to fighting for the gospel values. A gospel that cannot be divorced from the fight for justice!