Fordham theology professor Bryan Massingale, STD, one of the world’s leading Catholic social ethicists and scholars of African-American theological ethics, racial justice, and liberation theology, wasn’t just a resident of Milwaukee when he taught at Marquette University—he grew up there, too.
So when Sherman Park, a predominantly black neighborhood on the north side of the city, exploded in riots on Aug. 13 following the shooting death of a black man by police, Father Massingale, who joined the Fordham faculty this summer, said he was saddened but not surprised by the turn of events.
We caught up with Father Massingale as he was preparing to begin teaching this fall, to get his take on growing up in the “Selma of the North,” one of the most racially segregated U.S. cities.