Deacon Jerry Lett of the Atlanta Archdiocese was elected treasurer of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus during the organization’s joint conference with other black Catholic associations in Chicago July 28-Aug. 1.

The National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus is an organization based in Montgomery, Ala., that brings together black Catholic priests and religious brothers, and deacons and their wives to provide mutual support and to advocate for the black community.

Father Kenneth Taylor, a priest of the Indianapolis Archdiocese, and Precious Blood Father Clarence Williams, currently stationed in the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, were elected president and vice president, respectively.

Deacon Lett was ordained in 1990 to the diaconate and serves at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Decatur.

Also taking part in the meeting were the National Black Sisters’ Conference, the National Black Catholic Seminarians’ Association and the National Association of Black Catholic Deacons.

During the conference, more than 200 black priests, deacons, women religious and seminarians joined community members the evening of July 29 for a march for nonviolence in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood.

Even though the march was planned a year earlier, the ongoing gun violence in the city made it timely, organizers said. The joint conference comes together annually and usually schedules some sort of public witness during their gathering.