 |
| Rt. Rev. Alfred L. Banyard. Photo by Jolyon Pruszinski of portrait at Diocesan headquarters in Trenton, NJ. |
In the 1950’s and 60’s Bishop Banyard (1908-1992) had worked hard to establish Christ the King, Willingboro in the initially all-White development built there by the Levitt corporation.[1] However, the initial leadership of the parish was shaky, and in the late 1960s Banyard installed a favorite priest, and personal friend there to protect his pet project. The correspondence between Banyard and the Rev. Cn. Nichols during his time as priest at Christ the King (as preserved in the Diocesan archives) is unusually intimate for Banyard, and on many occasions we see his “unvarnished” and, at times, seethingly nasty opinions come through, especially toward those he disliked. In letters from April 1968, at the time of the Trenton riots, we see particularly racist attitudes toward Black people on display in Banyard’s communications to Nichols. We present scans of the letters in question without further comment.
Bishop Banyard to Rev. Cn. Nichols, 11 April 1968:
Bishop Banyard to Rev. Cn. Nichols, 15 April 1968:
Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.
Reparations Commission Historian
Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey
Reparations Commission Historian
Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey
[1] See Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, “‘White Flight’ and Mission in the Diocese of New Jersey,” DNJRJR (1 October 2024): https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2024/10/white-flight-and-mission-in-diocese-of.html, and Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, “Christ the King, Levittown: An example of the ‘White Flight’ mission,” DNJRJR (8 October 2024): https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2024/10/christ-king-levittown-example-of-white.html.
