Sisters of Selma

1872

The Franciscan Sisters of Mary derive their mission from their founder, Mary Odilia Berger and her companions who came from Germany to St. Louis "determined to live a consecrated life, to become self-supporting, and to help those in need."  The sisters cared for the sick in their homes, sheltered single mothers-to-be, protected working women, and embraced the care of orphans.  These sisters, who became known as the Sisters of St. Mary, later broke ground for the first of many hospitals in St. Louis.  

She was one of the first African Americans to join the Sisters of St. Mary, and therefore no stranger to racial discrimination.  The Catholic church was perceived as "the white folk's church," with good reason.  The novitiate program she went through in order to take her vows was segregated.  She had graduated from one of the few nursing schools "for the colored" in St. Louis, and in the world in which she had grown up, women in general and Catholic nuns in particular served and followed tradition.  They did not take the lead in demanding change.

But times were changing, and Pope John XXIII was determined that his church would not be left behind.  He and his successor, Pope Paul VI spoke in support of the equality of all races and Christian churches.  One gift their Second Vatican Council (1962-65) gave the nuns was the freedom to reconnect with the dictates of their own heart.  So, when Sister Antona received an invitation to go to Selma, the choice was hers to make.  She remembers, "One side of me said: I don't want to be a martyr! But the other side said: Put up or shut up."

The Archbishop of St. Louis, Cardinal Joseph E. Ritter, was a man ahead of his time.  He had integrated Catholic schools in his diocese before public schools were integrated and instituted a Commission on Human Rights.  He gave his full support to Catholic participation in any interfaith group responding to Rev. King's call for help.  Sister Eugene Marie (Smith), Mother Superior of St. Mary's Convent, was one of three sisters who were asked if they would like to go to Selma the next morning.  Since sisters were not allowed to travel alone, she invited Sister Antona.     Sister Eugene Marie always maintained that on that occasion she felt like President Kennedy when he said, "I am the man who accompanies Jackie Kennedy."

March 10, 1965: 

Early on Wednesday, the group of 54 which included priests, rabbis, Protestant clergy, and six Catholic nuns, arrived in Selma by charter plane.  They were taken to the Brown Chapel AME church where the marchers had congregated to pray.  Soon Sister Antona, born and raised Baptist, was singing songs she hadn't sung since her childhood. "I was having myself a good ol' relaxing time."  But Pastor Louis Anderson of Selma's Tabernacle Baptist church was speaking. "For the first time in my life," he declared to a hushed church, "I am seeing a Negro nun...It is a message for Mayor Smitherman, for Sheriff Clark and for Governor Wallace... that you don't have to be white to be holy."  When asked to address the gathering, she said:

"I am here because I am a Negro, a nun, a Catholic, and because I want to bear witness."

When the protestors began to march, the nuns found themselves in front.  Someone asked Sister Antona to take her glasses off.  A day earlier, a visiting Unitarian minister had been severely beaten by segregationists, which gave the authorities an excuse to ban Wednesday's march.  Disobeying that ban might have serious consequences.

40 Years Later... 

Looking back, Sister Antona realizes she has developed a bond with Selma that goes beyond what one would expect to come out of a half-day visit.  In 1983 she returned to the "scene of the crime." 

Joe Smitherman was still the mayor.  She remembered the "hate in his eyes" when he had confronted her and her companions 18 years ago. This time he welcomed her and gave her a tour of City Hall.  "I wondered all these years," he confided, "whatever happened to that black woman they dressed up like a nun."

Sister Antona has no illusions about what could have happened that Wednesday in 1965.   She had risked being beaten and trampled and being separated from her companions in a segregated jail.

"Selma happened really because it was the time and place to take a risk," she says, " Taking a risk has its payoffs, too."

photo: Sr. Antona

Sister Antona, came out of the experience with both a greater commitment to her calling as well as a new activism. 

In 1968, she helped to establish the National Black Sisters' Conference and later served as President.

In 1976, when she was named administrator of St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo, Wisconsin, she took very seriously the fact that she was the first black woman religious to head a hospital. "It is in the interest of my people," she said, "that I do not allow those around me to forget that it is a black sister who is performing this function."

sources: Franciscan Sisters of Mary, St. Louis
Sister Antona Ebo