A Loyola Institute of Ministry student has initiated a ministry opposed to mass incarceration and the oppression that black males face in today’s prison systems.

Grant Tregre, graduate senior, has developed the New Jim Crow ministry at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in New Orleans to increase awareness of the negative impacts of the prison industrial complex explained in the book “The New Jim Crow.”

After taking a course with Tom Ryan, director of the Loyola Institute for Ministry, Tregre said he and other students were challenged in practical theology assignments to grapple with real-world issues that students could impact in their local parishes and communities.

“I must have written a few papers that focused on mass incarceration, but even more so, with a specific focus on New Orleans and Louisiana. Dr. Ryan’s challenges combined with interest from parishioners and the support of the Social Justice Ministry at St. Gabriel, is how the concept came about,” Tregre said.

In an article he wrote for “The Second Line,” the archdiocese’s Office of Black Catholic Ministry’s newsletter, Tregre said that within Louisiana’s system of mass incarceration, there exists a pervasive racism that undergirds many of the laws, legal policies and court hearings.

In response, the ministry’s purpose includes encouraging harmony with those who are most affected by the system and implementing Christian-based action toward eradicating systematic exploitation within the criminal justice system.

“The system of mass incarceration takes advantage of lower income and destitute communities by implementing inequitable laws and exploiting prison labor for the financial gain of the wealthy” rather than rehabilitating prisoners for reentry into society, Tregre said.

Tregre’s strong interest in pursing issues associated with mass incarceration and how it impacts the black community is another thing that led him to begin the ministry.

“Mass incarceration in the black community is one of the most important issues of our time,” Tregre said. “It is a system that has replaced slavery in many regards and continues to keep black folk in an oppressed under-caste, which negatively impacts families and communities for generations.”

Thus far, the ministry has supported Jerome Morgan, who was recently exonerated after spending 20 years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, at several of his court hearings. The ministry also participated in the Micah Project Legislative Restorative Justice Practices Forum as well as the Black Lives Matter Symposium at Xavier University.

David Bocage, a member of the ministry and a fellow advocate, says that he enjoys the aspect of tying together the past oppressions of the black community with the current problems that affect each citizen.

“That’s what I enjoy most, connecting the puzzle pieces and the effects of this. If this happens over here, then what’s going on over there? And it affects all of us, not just the ones in jail. It has a lasting generational affect, and even on a small scale, it makes an impact,” Bocage said.

While the New Jim Crow Ministry is still in its infancy, it plans to incorporate some key movements as it continues to grow. It also plans to continue to become more diverse as far as membership, reaching to all racial and cultural groups.

“We felt that building a solid foundation is critical for any work that we do. At all of our planning meetings, we typically provided an education component where we focus on related topics, such as activities that the Equal Justice Initiative is doing or maybe the latest efforts of what the Innocence Project is working towards,” Tregre said, naming a few organizations with similar missions.

Bocage said he also enjoys the scholarly aspect of the ministry.

“I like the discussions that we’re having, how we are taking the viewpoint of being practical and how we can take what we have learned and lectured about and turn that into a movement,” Bocage said.

Chasity Pugh contributed to this report.