Story of Slave Turned Priest Coming to Dallas Stage This Week

A play about the first Black priest in America is heading to Dallas this week. It’s also a homecoming for the lead actor, Jim Coleman.

The multimedia stage production “Tolton: From Slave to Priest” tells the story of Venerable Father Augustus Tolton. Tolton’s family escaped slavery when he was a child throughout his life, faced and overcame adversity. He was rejected from seminaries in the United States because of his race before being educated in Rome and returning to Illinois to serve as a priest.

Dallas Native Jim Coleman has portrayed Tolton in performances across the nation for four years. He said that many parts of this role resonated with him.

“The love of a mother, a woman who escaped slavery with three children. She was willing to risk everything for a better life and she was willing to risk the lives of her children, to have a better life. And she sought out the church,” Coleman said. “For me, the fact that this woman, the strength of this woman, that she would not give up. And once she found freedom in Illinois, she sought out the Catholic Church, which was baffling to me because your slave owners were Catholic. It made no sense. But her faith was not in the slave owner. Her faith was in Christ.”

He says many audience members share that they feel inspired and changed after learning Tolton’s story.

“Once they’re in, they understand the hatred, they understand that oh, well, the Catholic church is a church for all people. Yet it wasn’t at that time. And just like then, we’re still dealing with a lot of the same issues,” said Coleman.

Tolton is up for Canonization, meaning he could become a Saint.

The play’s Dallas run starts Wednesday, Feb. 15 and runs through Saturday, Feb.18. Learn more here.