The Office of African American Catholic Ministries of the Archdiocese of Baltimore released the names of the recipients of the first Daniel Rudd Scholarship. The Daniel Rudd Scholarship Fund is administered by the office and board of African American Catholic Ministries. The scholarship named after the founder of the National Black Catholic Congress is open to low income Catholic students currently residing in the metropolitan area of Baltimore and enrolled in a Catholic elementary or high school within the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
At the age of 35, Daniel Rudd founded the National Black Catholic Congress movement. Rudd was born Aug. 7, 1854, to Robert and Elizabeth Rudd. He was one of 12 children. Rudd’s father was a slave on the Rudd estate near Bardstown. Both parents were Catholic. The importance of Daniel Rudd and the National Black Catholic Congress to African-American Catholicism in America is summed up in the Congress’ mission statement “We, The National Black Catholic Congress, comprised of member organizations, represent African American Roman Catholics, working in collaboration with National Roman Catholic organizations. We commit ourselves to establishing an agenda for the evangelization of African Americans; and to improve the spiritual, mental, and physical conditions of African Americans, thereby committing ourselves to the freedom and growth of African Americans as full participants in church and society. Aware of the challenges, we are committed to evangelize ourselves, our church and unchurched African Americans, thereby enriching the church. We hold ourselves accountable to our baptismal commitment to witness and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.”
The idea for a scholarship honoring the legacy of Daniel Rudd began in 2010 as an initiative of the African American Catholic Ministries Board, an advisory board to the Office of African American Catholic Ministries. The board is made up of church-appointed representatives of the predominately African-American parishes in Baltimore City and Howard County. I serve on both the board and the Sub-committee on Catholic Education tasked with promoting this scholarship. One of the main focuses of the board is to enhance the quality of life within the African-American community through evangelization and community outreach.
All during 2010, the sub-committee explored ideas of supporting Catholic education. Its end result was to establish a scholarship .To generate funds for the Daniel Rudd Scholarship, the office and board of African American Catholic Ministries initiated a raffle that began in early 2011. The raffle, which will become an annual fundraising event, made it possible to award three scholarships to deserving Catholic students. The scholarship funds released will total $8,000. Twenty two applications were received during this inaugural year. Following an exhaustive review of applications, the following individuals have been named as recipients of the first Daniel Rudd Scholarship:
Elementary School Awardee
Anile Ballard – Anile is a member of St. Wenceslaus Parish and attends Cardinal Shehan School.
Middle School Awardee
Jordan Symanek – Jordan is a member of St. Lawrence Martyr Parish in Jessup and attends Monsignor Slade Catholic School in Glen Burnie.
High School Awardee
Tyler Thompson – Tyler is a member of St. Peter Claver Parish and is a student at Mount Saint Joseph High School.
Congratulations to all of the Daniel Rudd Scholarship Recipients.
If you would like to invest in a child’s future and want to make a charitable contribution to the Daniel Rudd Scholarship Foundation, please contact the Office of African-American Catholic Ministries at 410-625-8472.
Rodney D. Camphor is a member of the Board of African American Catholic Ministries, serving on the Sub-Committee on Catholic Education. He is a member of St. Ambrose Church.