Mathew Ahmann | |
|---|---|
).jpg) Ahmann in 1963 | |
| Born | (1931-09-10)September 10, 1931 St. Cloud, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | December 31, 2001(2001-12-31) (aged 70) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Education | Saint John's University (BA) University of Chicago |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6 |
Mathew H. Ahmann (September 10, 1931 – December 31, 2001) was an AmericanCatholic layman andcivil rights activist. He was a leader of theCatholic Church's involvement in thecivil rights movement, and in 1960 founded and became the executive director of theNational Catholic Council for Interracial Justice.[1]
By initiating the 1963National Conference on Religion and Race, Ahmann worked to establish the civil rights movement as a moral cause. He was one of four white men, along withWalter Reuther,Eugene Carson Blake, and RabbiJoachim Prinz, who joined the "Big Six" to organize the 1963March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He gave a speech during the march that preceded the "I Have a Dream" speech ofMartin Luther King Jr.[2] Following the civil rights movement, he directed several civil rights and Catholic service initiatives.[3] He is not commonly thought of when thinking of the civil rights movement but has been said to have acted as a catalyst for the Catholic Church's involvement in the movement.[4]
Ahmann was born on September 10, 1931, inSt. Cloud, Minnesota, to Norbert Ahmann, a dentist, and Clothilda Ahmann, née Hall, a nurse.[5] Ahmann's grandfather, Mathew Hall, was aGerman-American immigrant and St. Cloud businessman. Ahmann was the oldest of three brothers; religion was a large part of everyday life as they attended Catholic school and religious retreats.[5] They each attendedSaint John's Preparatory School inCollegeville, Minnesota.[1][2] Ahmann grew up a Boy Scout and playing music in a band.
Ahmann studied social science atSaint John's University for three years.[1] After graduating in 1952, he entered a master's degree program insociology at theUniversity of Chicago. Ahmann's brother David recalled:
When Matt announced he was going on to the University of Chicago the family promptly held a prayer meeting so that Matt wouldn't lose his faith. In fact, he found his faith.[5]
Ahmann's intent was to finish his master's program but he left to focus on his work with the civil rights movement.[3]
Ahmann worked in Chicago for several years as director of the Chicago Catholic Interracial Council.[3] In 1960, he founded and became the executive director of the National Catholic Council for Interracial Justice. As director, Ahmann organized the National Conference on Religion and Race, the first national meeting on civil rights between Catholic,Protestant, andJewish leaders. The conference was held at theEdgewater Beach Hotel inChicago on January 14–17, 1963. Ahmann scheduled it to coincide with theEmancipation Proclamation's 100th anniversary. Ahmann said his goal for the conference was to:
examine the role of religious institutions in race relations and then move on to propose and inspire renewed action and interreligious projects to increase the leadership of religion in ending racial discrimination.[6]
Leaders from 78 denominations attended, and speakers includedMartin Luther King Jr.,Sargent Shriver, andAbraham Joshua Heschel.[1] One attendee said it was an achievement in itself that Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Orthodox leaders had even come together: "A total of 1,000 delegates – about 750 official delegates and 250 observer delegates" attended.[7] After Ahmann's speech, Heschel invited Ahmann to the stage and said, "We are here because of the faith of a 33-year-old Catholic layman." Heschel kissed Ahmann on the head, and Ahmann received astanding ovation.[1] A journalist who attended concluded that even if the attendees did nothing after they left the conference, they would never be the same. He also explained that after the conference it was expected that committees of the three religions would form on local and regional levels but in order to be successful they needed to be more unanimous in action, not independent.[7]
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Ahmann was asked by organizers of the 1963March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom to find aCatholic bishop who would serve as a Catholic chairman for the march. Unable to find a willing bishop, Ahmann himself volunteered to join the organizing committee and make a speech at the march.[8] Ahmann, as the Catholic presence, along with white leadersWalter Reuther,Eugene Carson Blake, andJoachim Prinz, joined the original "Big Six" to organize the march as the "Big Ten."
At the August 28 March on Washington, Ahmann gave a speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He asked:[4]
Who can call himself a man, and take part in a system of segregation which frightens the white man into denying what he knows to be right, into denying the law of his God?[1]
Ahmann's speech preceded King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
In 1965, Ahmann urged allUnited States diocese clergy to attend theSelma to Montgomery marches, in response to King's call for participation. In the same year, he gave the commencement speech at theCollege of Saint Benedict, where he encouraged women to fight for rights. In 1967, Ahmann wrote a letter to the incarcerated King, saying, "Our conference sends you greetings while you serve sentence for your witness for humanity, dignity and justice."[1] The King Center has uploaded this telegram to their online archives for the public to view.[9]
Ahmann continued to show his support to King and the movement in 1967 when he sent him a telegram on the 10-year anniversary of theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference to congratulate them on all of the work they had done and continued to do for human rights.[10]
Ahmann worked with the National Catholic Council for Interracial Justice until 1968. In 1969, he moved to Texas and became the executive director of the Commission on Church and Society for theArchdiocese of San Antonio.[3] During the1972 presidential election, Ahmann worked for vice-presidential candidateSargent Shriver.[3] He then worked for 16 years as the associate director of government relations forCatholic Charities USA inWashington, D.C.[11] He was also an executive committee member of theLeadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.[11]
Ahmann died of cancer on December 31, 2001, atSibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. A memorial Mass was held at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C., on January 12, 2002.[12]
William L. Taylor remarked, "Mr. Ahmann was a quiet voice of conscience in the civil rights movement, who helped make the Leadership Conference the effective organization that it is today."[11] In October 2013, Ahmann was posthumously awarded theColman J. Barry Award for Distinguished Contributions to Religion and Society from Saint John's University.[2][13]
In 1954, Ahmann married Margaret C. Ahmann.[1] Together they raised six children.[12]
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