The contributions and history of Black people in the formation of the modern Church has long been ignored or forgotten. A response to The National Black Catholic Pastoral Plan, written in 1989 by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, stated that "little importance is given to the symbolic value that historic monuments, records, artifacts, and photographs may have in encouraging the faith and evangelization of a people, especially of a people whose history has so often been denied." In 1999 this denial is still evident in the Diocese of Charlotte. Seldom are there icons in local parish churches with which African Americans can identify. And rarely can one openly worship in a manner that is culturally different from that which is proscribed. As a result, to many African Americans, Catholicism is viewed as a religion for those of Anglo descent, thereby leaving them feeling disenfranchised and unwelcomed. To reverse this oversight and unwritten policy, the Diocese of Charlotte needs a method of inclusion for Catholics of African American descent. The Church must seek ways to evangelize African Americans and to retain those who believe in the Catholic Faith, but feel unwelcome. The effort must be deliberate and swift to prevent a further decline in the number of African American youth and young adults who are leaving the Catholic Church and are warmly welcomed into other faiths.

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