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Bill Hansen: A Catholic Activist in the Civil Rights Movement

Abstract: Historians have noted the “miniscule presence” of Roman Catholics in the Civil Rights movement prior to 1963. While most priests and religious sisters were forbidden by their superiors from demonstrating in support of African American rights, several lay Catholics actively participated in the southern freedom struggle before the March on Washington. Because they seldom called attention to their faith, these individuals have been largely ignored by scholars examining the religious origins of civil-rights activists. Notable among these “invisible Catholics” is Bill Hansen, the son of a Cincinnati working-class family. Educated in parochial schools from first grade through college, Bill was a founding member of the Xavier University Interracial Society. From Xavier he went south where he was arrested in Mississippi as a Freedom Rider, badly beaten in a Georgia jail cell, and sent to an Alabama prison for participating in a “freedom walk.” In all, he was arrested 45 times. From 1963 to 1966, he headed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s (SNCC) Arkansas organizing project, leading successful desegregation efforts in Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and other places. Disheartened by persistent racism within the church and hypocritical behavior by Catholic clergy, he eventually abandoned the religion of his youth.