Black History

Wilton D. Gregory Installed as Archbishop of D.C.

THE AFRO — It was a ceremony that was heavy on style, formality and tradition as The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory was installed as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington. Gregory’s official title is “His Excellency The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory, SLD, as Seventh Archbishop of Washington.”

Published

6 years ago

May 24, 2019

Oakland Post

By George Kevin Jordan

It was a ceremony that was heavy on style, formality and tradition as The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory was installed as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington.

Gregory’s official title is “His Excellency The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory, SLD, as Seventh Archbishop of Washington.”

The ceremony was held Tuesday at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Michigan Avenue, N.E., which is the largest Roman Catholic Church in North America.

Gregory was appointed April 4 by Pope Francis, and succeeds Cardinal Donald Wuerl as archbishop.

During the appointment, in a statement Cardinal Wuerl said: “With great joy, I welcome the news that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has favored this local Church with the appointment of Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, as the seventh Archbishop of Washington. I join all who appreciate his pastoral abilities, his intellectual gifts and his leadership qualities.”

“As the Church of Washington opens a new chapter and looks to the future, we can all, with great confidence and enthusiasm, welcome our new shepherd.”

“I am deeply grateful to Pope Francis for this appointment to serve the Archdiocese of Washington and to work with all of the members of this faith community,” said Archbishop Gregory during last month’s appointment. “I look forward to encountering and listening to the people of this local Church as we address the issues that face us and continue to grow in the Love of Christ that sustains us.”

The day’s services was a a journey, or liturgy, of acclamations and song. The highlight of the afternoon was a version Richard Smallwood’s “Total Praise,” a song usually pumped with gospel ferver, was light and glorious in this rendition.

“We stand at a defining moment for our local faith community,” Archbishop Gregory said during the installment. “Our hearts were filled with hopes and eagerness.”

“Together we implore the Holy Spirit to fortify us with the grace, perseverance, and determination that only Christ himself is able to provide as a gift with his presence, peace and promise.”

Gregory was born in Chicago, IL in 1947. He attended St. Carthage Grammar School, where he converted to Catholicism. He attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, Niles College (now St. Joseph’s College Seminary) of Loyola University and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, according to his biography.

He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 9, 1973. In 1976 he began graduate studies at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute (Sant’ Anselmo) in Rome. There he earned his doctorate in sacred liturgy in 1980.

He served as an associate pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Glenview, IL, as a member of the faculty of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein and as a master of ceremonies to Cardinals John Cody and Joseph Bernardin, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop of Chicago on December 13, 1983. On February 10, 1994, he was installed as the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, IL where he served for the next eleven years.

He is most famously known as being appointed the sixth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta on December 9, 2004.

In an article pulling data from a 2014 Religious Landscape Study, there are 51 million Catholics in the U.S., which constitutes about one fifth of the country. Of that number 59 percent are White, 34 percent are Hispanic and three percent are black.

To watch the entire ceremony please go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9093&v=Pepd1BDGWX0

To see the full program go to: https://adw.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/05/ArchbishopGregoryInstallation21May2019.pdf

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

7 days ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.