Father Lawrence Lucas
Retired Catholic priest (Harlem, NY)
A Catholic priest, author, human rights and civil rights activist, social justice activist, and educator, Father Lucas was a vocal part of his Harlem community. In the 1970s, he became the first African-American pastor of Harlem’s Chapel of the Resurrection Roman Catholic Church, where he served for over 24 years. He was a co-founding member of the December 12th Movement, and advocated for Black priests to have decision making within Black communities, and for prison reform and justice for Black and Latino incarceration. He was born in Harlem In 1933 and succumbed to the coronavirus on April 18 at the age of 86.
