"Jim Crow infested all parts of Prince Powe's life when he was growing up in Mobile, Ala., in the 1950s - even the realm of God. The city was a historic center for Black Catholics and the birthplace of the Knights of Peter Claver, founded in 1909 as one of the first Catholic fraternal orders in the country for Black men, at a time when other lay groups wouldn't accept them."
"He attended Catholic school and remembers an active community in Mobile filled with baptisms, weddings and first communions. He also remembers the reality of segregation. Black Catholics had their parishes, while white Catholics had nicer ones. When he asked about joining the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus, the largest Catholic men's group in the U.S., he was told that Black members were not allowed."
Jim Crow shaped Prince Powe's upbringing in Mobile, Alabama, affecting even religious life. Mobile served as a historic center for Black Catholics and as the birthplace of the Knights of Peter Claver, founded in 1909 as one of the first Catholic fraternal orders for Black men. Powe's family belonged to that order and he attended Catholic school within a vibrant community, yet segregation produced separate, unequal parishes and blocked access to groups like the Knights of Columbus. Powe served in Vietnam, later moved to Orange County in 1985, became active in church life, and in 2021 helped form a local Knights of Peter Claver chapter.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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