Priest recalls his rebellious 1965 visit to Selma

Msgr. John O’Donnell says movie about march was ‘gut-wrenching’ to watch

Published: February 6, 2015

By Aprille Hanson
Associate Editor

Arkansas Catholic file

Msgr. John O’Donnell (in a 1961 news clipping and a 2014 photo) has spent his 60 years a priest promoting peace and justice in Arkansas and across the south.

Arkansas Catholic file

Msgr. John O’Donnell (in a 1961 news clipping and a 2014 photo) has spent his 60 years a priest promoting peace and justice in Arkansas and across the south.

As a young associate pastor at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock in 1960, Msgr. John O’Donnell was considered a “troublemaker,” as were a few other priests in the diocese. It wasn’t for any disruptive behavior, but merely following Jesus’ call to love one another — black and white.

The now-retired Msgr. O’Donnell, 87, recalled for Arkansas Catholic his memories of being a priest in Little Rock during the 1957 crisis at Central High as well as visiting Selma after the 1965 voting rights marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King, most recently depicted in the film “Selma,” directed by Ava DuVernay.

“Myself and there were five other priests, we got involved peripherally and Bishop (Albert) Fletcher was not happy about that,” the Pennsylvania native told Arkansas Catholic. “He didn’t want priests getting their name or picture in the paper. So we were out of favor ... No one wanted to be identified with troublemakers and law-breakers and do-gooders, all of which we and others were called, who were trying to establish a little peace and sanity and conversation.”

Even mixing with other people of faith was not welcomed at that time in Little Rock.

“We did the same thing with inter-religious conversations, working with Episcopalians; I’ll work with anybody on anything and so the diocesan office here named us the ‘Ecumanics’ because we were trying to be ecumenical, to be friends with everybody — the Protestants, the blacks, the do-gooders,” Msgr. O’Donnell said.

The priest said Bishop Fletcher did not want the Church to get involved with “political issues” like integration, but Msgr. O’Donnell always viewed it as a human rights issue.

“My viewpoint was that we ought to be at the forefront of peace and racial justice and common sense and respect,” Msgr. O’Donnell said. “Jesus said we’re supposed to love each other and this is supposed to be the land of the free, the home of the brave, the United States of America.”

Even as Msgr. O’Donnell, who was ordained in 1954, watched the National Guard, rifles in hand, take their place at Little Rock Central High School in 1957 to block nine black students from entering the all-white school, there was no response from the Catholic Church.

“The Catholic Church in Arkansas took no public stand as a matter of fact. We had reporters here from all over the world at Central High School … there was a reporter here, Drew Pearson,” from New York who was well known for his columns and radio show, “he had an appointment with the superintendent of Catholic schools. He said what is the Catholic Church doing in this crisis? And the superintendent said, ‘It’s none of our business; we have our own schools,’” Msgr. O’Donnell said.

After however, Bishop Fletcher did write in The Guardian, predecessor to Arkansas Catholic, that it was wrong to stop peaceful integration.

Then there was the nationwide footage of the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., where black people were protesting for their right to vote with no restrictions. The march didn’t make it past the now infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge where people were viciously beaten by police on May 7, 1965, known as “Bloody Sunday.”

Dr. Martin Luther King released a public call for religious leaders and anyone who believed in civil rights throughout the nation to march and thousands followed, including a handful of priests from Arkansas.

An April 2, 1965, edition of The Guardian made reference to the march: “One hundred Catholic priests and religious brothers and 25 religious sisters, who ignored the custom of asking the local bishop’s permission to demonstrate in his diocese and took part in the recent Selma-to-Montgomery racial march, have been defended by two cardinals and upbraided by the Alabama state legislature.”

Msgr. O’Donnell took the trip to Selma with friends after the first wave of the march to show his support for the cause.

“We had been following it on the radio … about the beatings and the dogs and the fire hoses and the billy clubs and all that business; Kids from up north being killed,” Msgr. O’Donnell said. “We weren’t looking for trouble obviously; we just kind of walked around,” including over Edmund Pettus Bridge. “There wasn’t any great organization, just get out there and do something.”

The experience in Selma was brought back to Msgr. O’Donnell’s mind when he recently went to the theater to watch “Selma,” starring David Oyelowo as Dr. King.

“It’s gut-wrenching. And you just wonder how all that was possible,” Msgr. O’Donnell said. “You just wonder what it would have been like if we had supported the Civil Rights Act, integration.”

Though the scenes from the civil rights struggle are locked in the past, Msgr. O’Donnell said Catholics have more to do to break down racial barriers and live out the faith how God intended.

“Practice what we preach and what we preach is the brotherhood of mankind. We’re all brothers and sisters under God and the Church always preaches justice and cooperation and reaching out to the disenfranchised, taking care of the poor people,” Msgr. O’Donnell said.