Dorothy day biography social activist

“Dorothy Day remains the conscience of American Catholicism… with a dual passion for social justice and intimacy with God.” --The Atlantic

Even before her death in at the age of 83, Dorothy Day was already being considered a future saint in the Catholic Church. This former communist and anarchist, social activist and Church critic may soon join the company of those she so admired - St. Francis of Assisi and St. Teresa of Avila. Day often bristled at those who called her a living saint - believing it was a way to easily dismiss her as a simple idealist. But in Dorothy Day, the poor, the hungry, the homeless and all those clinging to the margins of life could not have a more devoted companion.

The story of Dorothy Day reflects all her complexities, richness and contradictions. As a child she survived the great San Francisco earthquake. As a young adult in Chicago she fell in love, had an abortion, married, divorced and twice attempted suicide. She moved to New York City, rejecte

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Dorothy Day

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Who Was Dorothy Day?

Intrigued bygd the Catholic faith for years, Dorothy Day converted in In , she co-founded The Catholic Worker, a newspaper promoting Catholic teachings that became very successful and spawned the Catholic Worker Movement, which tackled issues of social justice. Day also helped establish special homes to help those in need. Day was a radical during her time, working for such social causes as pacifism and women's suffrage.

Early Life

Dorothy Day was born on November 8, , in New York City. She was the third of five children born to her parents, Grace and John, who worked as a journalist. The family moved to California for his job when Dorothy was 6 years old. They later lived in Chicago.

A bright student, Day was accepted to the University of Illinois. She was enrolled there from to , but she abandoned her studies to move to New York City. There, Day became involved with a literary and liberal crowd in the city's Greenwich Village neighbor

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Day, Dorothy

in: People

Dorothy Day (November 8, &#; November 29, ) &#;  Journalist, Social Activist, Pacifist

By Harris Chaiklin, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland School of Social Work

 

Dorothy Day&#;s early life gave little indication of what lay ahead. She was bright, bookish, worked hard, and aspired to be a writer. Religion did not play a large role in the family but she always found solace in churches, regardless of denomination. She had a strong desire to be independent and at age 16 won a scholarship to the University of Illinois. The high point in her life there was to be accepted into a writers club called “The Scribblers.”

At the end of her second year her father got a job in New York and she followed the family there. There is great poignancy in her statement that, “I could not bear to have them go so far without me. … I was not as free as I thought.” (p. 54). She worked for radical publications as a reporter and editorial assistant. This