When you attend a Catholic school and a teacher discovers you’re a granddaughter of “The Hallinans,” they treat you differently. At least, that’s the way it was growing up in Tempe, Arizona in the 1990s at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School.
My grandfather, Arthur Hallinan, Sr., and grandmother, Dorothy Jane Hallinan, were not only active members of the Phoenix Roman Catholic Diocese, they were also good friends of The Daverns, both families ardent Irish Catholics.
The Daverns’ son, Fr. Timothy Davern, was the pastor at Mt. Carmel and was fondly known as “Fr. Tim” to my brothers and sisters. Now, Fr. Tim would always be somewhat cross with students who were bending the rules just a little, but to my sister, Molly, and me, he was always kind and would always sneak in some type of Notre Dame parody or comment about the fighting Irish into the conversation.
This was because of our relationship to Archbishop Paul John Hallinan, my great uncle (my grandfather’s brother) -- someone I never met but of whom I have heard many loving stories about over the years.
“Fr. Paul” as my mother’s family called him, graduated from Notre Dame University several years ahead of Fr. Tim, but he was intimately familiar with my great uncle’s thought leadership in the Catholic Church, his liturgical reform advocacy at the Vatican II conference, and his focus on racial equality and social justice as a priest in the Cleveland Diocese, as Bishop of Charleston, and later as Archbishop of the Atlanta Diocese where Fr. Paul had served until his death in 1968 at the young age of 57.
My mother, Marie Hallinan, showed off her favorite pieces of literature on our “main bookshelf” in the living room of our childhood home. These include: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats, and a biography of Paul Hallinan -- her uncle.
Inside the front cover leaf of the biography is an inscription: “To my favorite niece Marie.” This was, of course, funny because Marie was his only niece. [Picture of the dedication to come! My mother is in the process of renovating her home.]
In the book is a newspaper clipping that bookmarks a certain page. Further examination of this bookmark reveals a moving picture of Archbishop Paul Hallinan and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (See image above.)
MLK is, of course, iconic. Not only due to historic character in the Civil Rights Movements of the1960s, but also the context of his work and how it matters today.
Fr. Paul’s first act as Archbishop of Atlanta during the peak of the tumultuous Civil Rights climate was to order the integration of all Catholic institutions under his jurisdiction.
He also encouraged Roman Catholic priests and nuns to participate in the Selma to Montgomery marches and encouraged Atlanta Catholics to open their neighborhoods “so Negroes can exercise the right of every American to live where he wishes.”
But, who is my great-grand uncle? And what is the context behind this iconic family photo?
A Legacy of Equality
Reading Coretta Scott’s memoir My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr., she mentions how she first received word of her husband receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Dr. King was in the hospital, a day needed to rest, and Scott woke him with the good news.
Later that day, once news begins to spread about Martin receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the first to visit Dr. King in the hospital is Archbishop Paul Hallinan.
“News of the announcement of the prize spread rapidly. Martin was visited by Archbishop Hallinan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. Bishop Hallinan offered his congratulations and then said to Martin, ‘May I give you my blessing?’ Martin said, ‘Of course,” and the Archbishop received a traditional blessing and then make the sign of the cross. Martin responded, then to his surprise the Archbishop sank to his knees beside his [hospital] bed and quietly said, “May I receive your blessing?’
“Later Martin told me how humbled he felt and how beautiful it was that a Roman Catholic Archbishop would receive the blessing of a Baptist preacher named Martin Luther.”
A similar version of the tale was told by Andrew Young, Dr. King's colleague in civil-rights activism, and later a congressperson and UN ambassador, which you can listen to fully here.
Young recalls: "I had a fit. [I never thought] I'd see a Roman Catholic archbishop down on his knees ask for a blessing by a black preacher named Martin Luther."
I think that in all the research I’ve written for this article, this must be my favorite story about Fr. Paul’s interaction with Dr. King. It’s a consistent one about joined morals from these leaders, no matter what religion or race, celebrating the good yet seemingly hard notion about living in a world of equality, humbly and full of compassion.
Not Very "Noble”
In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize for practicing nonviolent protests during an era where racial segregation was being practiced. He was the first to receive the prize in Georgia.
In what should have been a celebratory time for the state to have one of its natives of Montgomery to receive such an honor, the Georgia governor, Lester Maddox, an outspoken segregationist, chose not to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
An article in The New York Times from Dec. 29, 1964 states: “Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. and William B. Hartsfield, former Mayor, have moved in forcefully but quietly to prevent any incident that would become a snub to Dr. King.”
Instead of what should have been a public display of congratulations from the state turned into a grassroots effort by the moral authorities and community businesses of Georgia.
“About 10 days ago, letters were sent to more than 100 leaders in business, education, religion, politics, and civic affairs asking them to join as sponsors of a banquet on Jan. 27 at the Dinker Plaza Hotel here.”
The letters were signed by the Most Rev. Paul J. Hallinan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Atlanta; Rabbi Jacob Rothschild; Dr. Benjamin Mays, president of Morehouse College; and Ralph McGill, publisher of The Atlantic Constitution.
What’s more disheartening is that the article further illustrates that “most of those receiving the letters have not replied” showing the political and racial climate during this time.
In another New York Times article titled “Banquet for Dr. King Gets More Backing” -- published two days later -- 25 more businesses are included in the mix.
But why?
Not Part of the “Scripto”
Apparently, Dr. King, at the time, had been active in a boycott for Scripto, Inc., a leading manufacturer of pens, pencils, and ink in Atlanta. Many workers in the company were African American, and a “worldwide” picketing of the company ensued due to the poor condition its black workers were objected to.
Even more, many of the workers attended the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King and his father were co-pastors.
The Scripto issue was happening during the same time as the dinner was being planned, and many leading business members of the Atlanta community were on Scripto’s “side,” leading to a small number of business participants supporting the dinner.
According to another New York Times article published on Dec. 31, 1964: “The board chairman of Scripto, James V. Carmichael, is a man widely respected in the business community. He has been identified with many civic endeavors and has had a reputation as a moderate in racial matters. Some business leaders’ personal regard for Mr. Carmichael seemed to be a factor in the initial adverse reaction to plans for the King dinner.”
Yet, once the boycott was called off by Scripto and Dr. King alike, many more business members became interested in sponsoring the banquet for the Nobel Prize winner.
A Celebration of Support
From left to right: Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, Dr. Benjamin Mays, who was president of Morehouse College (and one of MLK's mentors), Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan, and Ralph McGill,
who was the publisher of the Atlanta Constitution.
Through all of this, it makes me consistently proud how my great uncle kept his moral compass in support of Dr. King.
The January 27, 1985 banquet in support of Dr. King’s Nobel Peace Prize was such a success that event planners actually had to turn away checks to purchase tickets. In what was originally hoped for 1,000 community members to join at $6.94/ticket, an impressive request for 1,400 tickets was made, but settled on 1,200 tickets.
From another New York Times article titled “A Banquet in Honor of Dr. King is Set for Atlanta Wednesday”: “‘[Don McEvoy, Georgia executive director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews] said that 101 Atlanta citizens agreed to serve as sponsors of the event. About three-fourths of these are white.”
Final Thoughts
I wish we could say the world is a different place than the 1960s in terms of racial issues. And, of course, many things have changed for the better, but we still have a long way to go in terms for true equality.
However, I am proud to be the far-off great niece of such a compassionate and loving man whose actions truly pave the way for a kinder world where we are not judged by the religion we choose to worship, the color of our skin, our age, what we wear – a world of zero judgement. These actions of peace my grand uncle modelled, I hope, captures positive future influence from my daughter, my niece and nephews, and my students.
Thank you to my uncle, Chuck Hallinan, for giving me this “assignment,” even though it took me ages to write. And thank you to my brother, Paul Tomasik, for giving me thoughtful notes on my rough draft as I was trying to perfect this blog post, my mom, Marie Hallinan, for her awesome back-up notes (“Great point, Paul!”), and my patient and always-editor husband, Adam Constable.
