Word in Black: Prof. Copeland Shares Implications of Pope Leo XIV’s Black Ancestors
Although genealogical records indicate that Pope Leo XIV descends from free people of color in New Orleans, his family’s assimilation into predominantly white communities and lack of self-identification as Black complicate the public’s narrative. Prof. Phillipe Copeland from BU School of Social Work emphasizes in a Word in Black article that race is about power and suggests that if Pope Leo openly embraces his Black ancestry, it could be a powerful challenge to white nationalist narratives.
Except from “Is the New Pope Black? The Answer Isn’t So Simple” by Joseph Williams:
“As leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, Copeland says, ‘If [Leo] was to come out and publicly claim his [racial] ancestry, that would shift the conversation immediately, versus if he’s a little bit more colorblind about it: “Well, yeah, that’s factual, but that’s not how I identify myself. I identify as white.”’
By contrast, ‘let’s say he was to embrace that aspect of himself,’ Copeland says. ‘That would be deeply affirming for many, many people, and it would potentially be a serious counter to people who have a racist agenda or white nationalist agenda, who would want to claim him: “He’s one of us. He’s a white American. You guys don’t get to claim this pope. He’s our Pope … he’s a white Pope.”’”