Neary to discuss recent book “Crossing Parish Boundaries”
Dr. Timothy Neary, associate professor of history and coordinator of the American studies program, will discuss his recently published book during an upcoming talk at the Jamestown Arts Center.
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 12 for Neary’s 6 p.m. talk. Admission is $10 for general, $8 for Jamestown Arts Center members and $5 for students.
Published in 2016, “Crossing Parish Boundaries: Race, Sports and Catholic Youth in Chicago, 1914–1954” explores the history of Bishop Bernard Sheil’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), which saw tens of thousands of children from Chicago of all races and religions participate in sports.
The history of Bishop Sheil and the CYO shows a cosmopolitan version of American Catholicism, one that is usually overshadowed by accounts of white ethnic Catholics aggressively resisting the racial integration of their working-class neighborhoods. By telling the story of Catholic-sponsored interracial cooperation within Chicago, “Crossing Parish Boundaries” complicates our understanding of northern urban race relations in the mid-20th century.
Neary holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Georgetown University and master’s and doctoral degrees in U.S. history from Loyola University Chicago. He is the executive director of the Urban History Association.
The Jamestown Arts Center is located at 18 Valley St. in Jamestown, Rhode Island. For more information on Neary’s talk, call (401) 560-0979 or visit jamestownartcenter.org.
