Edward LaSalle, Catholic Writer, Kansas City, Kansas
Edward LaSalle was born in
Opelousas in 1900 to Pierre and Laurentine LaSalle. He was reared by his
grandmother, Mrs. Julia Thompson. He migrated as a young man to Galveston and
Beaumont where he furthered his education and eventually married Miss Estelle
Baker. He later moved to Denver, where for a time he attended Denver University.
Brother LaSalle and his young wife made their home in Kansas City, Kansas where
he worked for the government many years as head of the railway post office. He
was very active in the National Alliance of Postal Employees, the union organization for black postal workers.
As a member of
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, he joined He became active with the Catholic
Interracial movement and befriended Fathers William Markoe and John LaFarge,
champions of Social Justice. He served on the editorial staffs of the Atlantean Magazine, The Chronicle, and The Interracial Review, the latter two being
Catholic publications. He was a frequent contributor to The Claverite as well. He served
as the first District Deputy of the Northern States from 1930 to 1932 and
1934-1944. He also served as Deputy of the Northern District – South from
1944 to 1946. His was a life spent writing and for that endeavor he had a true God-given gift. He was honored as one of the first two annual recipients of the James J. Hoey Award for Interracial Justice. Edward
LaSalle spent his life advancing the cause of interracial justice through his
writings which were inspired by his faith. He is a living exemplar of the maxim
“The pen is mightier than the sword!”
Source: Scally, M. Anthony. Negro
Catholic Writers, 1900-1943: A Bio-Bibliography (Detroit: W. Romig, 1945),
65-67.
