black – Madison Catholic Herald Archive (2001-2025)

Wisconsin has long held a reputation as a great place to live and work. We are known for providing an excellent education for people at all levels, along with good jobs and a safe place to live.

Our state prizes the values of opportunity, responsibility, family, and community, pointed out a speaker at a break-out session at the Catholics at the Capitol legislative conference held on April 8 in Madison.

Ken Taylor, executive director of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, said there are many good things happening in our state.

Shocking news

He also shared some shocking news.

Data published in April of this year reveals that Wisconsin has the highest unemployment rate for black people in our country at 19.9 percent. By contrast, less than five percent of white people are unemployed in Wisconsin.

People of faith can offer solutions

People of faith may provide some solutions to the unrest in our country over the deaths of civilians by police officers.

Like many others, I have been discussing these matters with people at home and work. We can understand the challenges faced by law enforcement in dealing with situations in their communities. Police officers are trying to protect citizens, but they can also find themselves in danger.

Black and white, or gray?

One widely-encountered idea today is that there is no black and white when it comes to morality, only a kind of “gray area.” This is often taken to mean that we really can’t know with certainty what is right and wrong, allowing us to “push into the gray” as we make certain moral decisions that at first glance appear to be immoral.

The behavior of the semi-legendary figure of Robin Hood is sometimes mentioned as an example of this “gray area” phenomenon, since he was a character who would steal money (morally bad) for the purposes of helping the poor (morally good).

‘Gray’ shrouds immoral actions

By focusing on the good intentions motivating our choices, and by arguing that morality is ambiguous and mostly “gray” anyway, a person can more easily justify and provide cover for morally problematic actions. When we begin to scrutinize the claim that morality is “gray,” however, we encounter significant problems and contradictions.