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June 6, 2018 The Skanner Page 9 News Mormons Grapple With Race Decades After Ban on Black Leaders Church celebrates 40th anniversary of reversing its ban on allowing Blacks to serve in the priesthood “ If we preach re- pentance, we should definitely embody it In a 2013 essay , the church disavowed the reasons behind the ban and condemned all rac- ism, saying the prohibi- tion came during an era of great racial divide that influenced early church teachings. Blacks were always allowed to be members, but the nearly century-long ban kept them from participating in many important ritu- als. Scholars said the essay included the church’s most comprehensive ex- planation for the ban and its 1978 reversal, which leaders say came from a revelation from God. But it didn’t include an apology, leaving some unsatisfied. “A lot of members are waiting for the church just to say, ‘We were wrong,’” said Phyli- cia Norris-Jimenez, a 30-year-old Black Mor- mon and member of the grass-roots Black LDS Legacy Committee, group of women who are organizing a confer- ence Saturday in Utah to honor the legacy of black Mormon pioneers. This June 5, 2013, photo shows Darius Gray, co-founder of a support organization founded in 1971 for Black Mormons called the Genesis Group, in Midvale, Utah. The Mormon church’s celebration Friday, June 1, 2018, night of the 40th anniversary of its reversal of a ban on Blacks in the lay priesthood is rekindling discussions about one of the faith’s most sensitive topics. Gray said the Mormon church and its doctrine aren’t racist but that racism lingers in the religion as it does in the culture. Norris-Jimenez said non-Black church mem- bers still struggle with how to talk about the ban or understand the pain it causes. She said the anniversary celebration honors something that should have never exist- ed but that it’s a good ges- ture and hopefully leads to more discussions about race. A fellow group mem- ber, LaShawn Williams, said she finds comfort in her belief that the ban was a “policy of people, not a policy of God,” made during a racist time. She and her three chil- dren are the only Black members of her congre- gation in Orem, Utah, and she tries to talk about race issues regu- larly with the teenagers she teaches in Sunday school. Williams, an assistant professor in social work at Utah Valley Universi- ty, would like an apology. “If we preach repen- tance, we should definite- ly embody it,” she said. The theme of the anni- versary celebration in Salt Lake City is “Be one,” a reference to a Mormon scripture. Top church leaders will deliver a message, and Gladys Knight, one of the most famous Black Mormons, will perform. “This is a call to the en- tire church, and by ex- tension, the entire world, to let go of prejudices and come together as one unified family,” said Ahmad Corbitt, a church employee who led the effort to organize the event. Corbitt declined to ad- dress a church apology, saying the faith is fo- cused on a forward-look- ing approach to unity. Darius Gray, co-found- er of the Genesis Group that supports Black Mor- mons, said the church and its doctrine aren’t racist but racism lingers in the faith as it does in society. He said he’s been plagued by calls from Mormons concerned about how they’re being treated, which he attri- butes to a rise in racism in the U.S. since Presi- dent Donald Trump was elected. He said he wouldn’t be opposed to an apolo- gy for the ban but that he’s more interested in helping the faith make progress in rooting out racism. Gray, who helped plan Friday’s event, said it’s a step toward healing. “An apology is here to- AP PHOTO/RICK BOWMER, FILE SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Mormon church on Friday will celebrate the 40th anniversary of reversing its ban on Black people serving in the lay priesthood, going on missions or getting married in temples, re- kindling debate about one of the faith’s most sensitive topics. The number of Black Mormons has grown but still only accounts for an estimated 6 percent of 16 million worldwide mem- bers. Not one serves in the highest levels of glob- al leadership. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has worked to improve race relations, including calling out White supremacy and launching a new formal alliance with the NAACP, but some Black Mor- mons and scholars say discriminatory opinions linger in some congrega- tions from a ban rooted in a belief that Black skin was a curse. TRENT NELSON/THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE VIA AP By BRADY McCOMBS Associated Press In this May 17, 2018, file photo, Mormon church President Russell M. Nelson shakes hands with Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP during a news conference, in Salt Lake City. The Mormon church on Friday, June 1, 2018, will celebrate the 40th anniversary of reversing its ban on black people serving in the lay priesthood, going on missions or getting married in temples, rekindling debate about one of the faith’s most sensitive topics. day and gone tomorrow,” Gray said. “More signif- icant is what an organi- zation does long term. The LDS church has been moving forward and changed its paradigm in massive ways.” The Utah-based church doesn’t provide ethnic or racial breakdowns of its members, but indepen- dent Mormon research- er Matt Martinich said those of primarily Afri- can descent account for about 6 percent of world- wide members. In the U.S., blacks ac- count for about 1 to 3 per- cent of 6.6 million Mor- mons, according to Pew Research Center surveys done in the last two de- cades. It’s not the only faith that struggles with a lack of Black members in its U.S. congregations: The United Methodist Church, Catholic Church and Judaism also have similarly low rates, ac- cording to a 2014 Pew Re- search Center study . Mormons probably shouldn’t wait for a rare apology from church leaders, said W. Paul Reeve, a Mormon studies professor at the Univer- sity of Utah. The church seems to be trying to walk a tight rope by dis- avowing past beliefs while not apologizing for the ban to avoid members questioning other doc- trine they think should be changed, he said. “What else are they wrong about? Are they wrong about gay mar- riage? Are they wrong about female ordina- tion?” Reeve said. “If they got race and the priesthood wrong, what else could they be wrong about? I think that’s part of the fear.” TheSkannerNews
