Dorothy Day

Early Life

Dorothy Day was born in 1897 in Brooklyn. She moved out of New York as a child, but returned to the city as a young adult. Dorothy was very politically active and opinionated in the 1910s and 1920s. An impressive writer, Dorothy spent her early twenties working as a journalist for communist papers and magazines in Greenwich Village. She participated in hunger strikes and rallies. In 1917, she was arrested during a suffragette protest in front of the White House. Due to her social nature and outspoken manner, Dorothy began to have an impressive friend circle of progressive and leftist activists. It was during this time that Dorothy had an abortion, at the pressure of her boyfriend Lionel Moise, who left her shortly after. Dorothy moved on, and met Forster Batterham, who she fell in love with. In 1926, Dorothy and Forster had a daughter, Tamar. The decision to baptize Tamar into the Catholic Church is what ultimately prompted Dorothy to convert. This shift in beliefs unfortunately led to the end of Dorothy’s relationship with Forster, who refused to support her newfound faith and would not marry her. This was heartbreaking for Dorothy, but she decided her faith was more important.

The Catholic Worker

Dorothy Day met Peter Maurin, a french peasant, in 1932. Peter Maurin was a Catholic, and had developed a mission to spread the message of the church. Dorothy was intelligent, charismatic, and driven; she was the perfect person to help him make his vision a successful one. The first step was to promote intellectual thought and educate people of the Church and what it stands for by creating a Catholic newspaper. In 1933, the newly formed Catholic Worker was sold in Union Square, for a penny. In addition to running the newspaper and serving as an editor, Dorothy wrote articles for almost every issue. The Catholic Worker united present day issues and church beliefs, such as poverty, race issues, and war.

Driven by a deep desire to help the poor, the growing Catholic Worker group began opening "Houses of Hospitality" as the second part of the three part plan. These houses drew masses of poor, sick, and homeless. Dorothy welcomed alcoholics and drug addicts, and provided them with food, shelter, and love. In addition to the houses themselves, the group frequently held soup kitchens to feed everyone who came hungry. As the houses filled and the lines grew, the name Dorothy Day spread, and The Catholic Worker opened more houses. After just a few years, dozen of Houses of Hospitality were open and running. One of the most famous is Maryhouse in the East Village.

The Catholic Worker also started multiple farms, meant to serve as places to live close to the earth and live a reflective, God centered life. The popularity of these farms varied, and they were often being opened and closed. Although not all of these farms were successful, there were some that provided happy homes to people searching for a more peaceful life.

The Catholic Worker is still running, and still helping many people. Visit the Catholic Worker website: https://www.catholicworker.org/

Activism

Dorothy Day was a strict pacifist. She was against war and violence in all forms. She protested the Spanish Civil War, and was angry at the large number of Christians who defended the war. Dorothy was one of few people to actually protest World War II. It was her belief that we were required to turn the other cheek no matter what, and that the only real solution to anything is “love, and ever more love.” In the 1950s, Dorothy Day and other Catholic Worker members protested air raids by sitting on park benches as they went through drills. Dorothy fought strongly against the Vietnam War, attending a number of peace rallies and protests.

Dorothy worked strongly with the Civil Rights Movement, and frequently wrote about Martin Luther King, and her admiration of his nonviolent protest. At age 76, Dorothy joined Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta at the picket line, protesting with the United Farm Workers for better treatment for the grape pickers. She was jailed for ten days.

This devotion to activism brought with it tremendous controversy. Dorothy faced backlash and disapproval from the church, who deemed her too radical. She was frequently called a communist, an anarchist, or a socialist, although she did not really claim any of those titles to identify herself. Instead, she called herself a “Christian Personalist.” During war time, Dorothy was publishing extremely anti-war articles, and lost many readers because of it. Despite the controversy, she was loved and respected by many for her great desire for justice.

Her Spot

Nearly 40 years after her death, Dorothy Day continues to inspire and help others. Recently, the Pope has mentioned trying to make her a saint. Cardinal Dolan has called Dorothy "a saint for our time." This phrase does a good job of summing up what makes Dorothy so special. She was truly holy and devoted to God, and she showed her love for God by showing her love for his people. She was not perfect, and had a long complex journey, but she did her part in making the world a better place. The issues she fought for were modern issues, and the way she spread the Gospel what that of peace and love, and not of condemnation. In a world so ridden with hate and choosing sides, Dorothy's morals are the perfect model for today.

I chose to honor Dorothy Day with a spot at our Dinner Party because I feel that the world needs more people like her. There are multiple other holy women at the table, but none of them hold such a powerful combination of intellectual ability, maternal compassion, and fierce leadership. Women activists and justice workers are so important, and should be recognized. Clearly, so much has happened in this field since the 1970s, and I believe a modern day Dinner Party should include more of these modern history women.

Although many people know of Dorothy, most do not know who she really was and what she stood for. She is often misinterpreted and taken for what people like about her. Non-religious activists often leave out her deep faith and focus on her activism, while Catholics sometimes leave out the tremendous work she did in protests. Hopefully people can recognize that everything Dorothy did is tied together, and that the root of all she did was love.

Her Place Setting

While making her plate, I was careful to incorporate all the qualities that make Dorothy so unique. I chose to use a metal plate as a base to represent both the coldness of the world, and poverty. I decorated most of the plate, but left the middle bare. This is symbolic of how the people and institutions found in the center of society are often cold and bare of love and compassion. Dorothy believed in decentralized governing and held much against the big corporations and system of government.

I placed a small, simple cross directly in the center of the plate. It was only right to included a tribute to Dorothy's intense Catholic devotion. Dorothy Day was very controversial, and many forget that God was the center of everything she did. All her work revolved around her faith and belief, so it would make sense to put a cross in the middle of the plate. I also hoped this would represent that God can be found in the coldest and loneliest places, and that Dorothy was always able to see that.

The outer rim of my plate is built up and popping out. I made it by wrapping bandanas around a styrafoam hoop. This has several symbolic meanings. First of all, I wanted to represent the fact that Dorothy dedicated her life to helping the people on the "margins" of society. She was always trying to build these people up, and give them a platform to stand on, hence the three dimensional rim, or "margin". Dorothy was also able to see the beauty and life in these people who were gross, sick, and ugly, which is why I choose to incorporate most of the color into this area of the plate. I choose the colors red, orange, and yellow because of what they symbolize. Red is usually associated with boldness and courage, which Dorothy certain possessed. It is also representative of love and passion, which is what Dorothy is all about. Warmth and comfort is matched up with orange, and content and happiness is displayed in the yellow. Warmth, comfort, content, and happiness are all feelings Dorothy was able to provide to many people desperately in need in them.

I used bandanas for a couple of reasons. First of all, the organization Dorothy started was called "The Catholic Worker." Often, a bandana is a symbol of a worker. Dorothy herself is also often photographed wearing a bandana, since she often wore one while working around the houses. This is connected to the rope I painted grey located on the inside of the ring. This rope is supposed to represent Dorothy's iconic braid crown, which she especially wore as an older woman, hence the grey. This is also meant to represent a halo, since she is being considered for sainthood .

Around the inside of the plate I wrote the sentence, "The final word is love." This is a quote by Dorothy, and I think it really describes who Dorothy was and what she stood for. I organized it so it is read like a clock. I chose the style of letters because they reminded me of typewriter keys, a tribute to Dorothy's long writing career. Between the letters are little roses. Similar to the colors around the rim, these flowers represent Dorothy's eye for beauty. Dorothy Day was also a big fan of Therese of Lisieux, a Saint who she actually went on to write a book about. Saint Therese is often portrayed with roses.

My runner is made of a tarp generally used in farming or planting. This refers to the farms Dorothy and The Catholic Worker Movement started, and her concept of living off of the land. Since The Catholic Worker is still in print, I was able to obtain a copy of an actual Catholic Worker paper, which I also put on my runner. I included the hearts by her name to bring it back to the number one foundation of Dorothy's life, which was love.