Black Mormon Documentary Now Available on DVD (LDS Caucus)

7 Space ^ | JUNE 15, 2009 | edited by Jim Hughes and Danor Gerald.

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REDDING, CA, JUNE 15, 2009: For many people, the words "black" and "Mormon" don't belong in the same sentence, unless in a pejorative manner. Few people, Mormon or non-Mormon, are aware of the African American presence in the LDS Church from its earliest days. Free and slave blacks have been members of the LDS church since the 1830s and, in most cases, worshiped together with white members. The vanguard company of Mormon pioneers, fleeing religious persecution in 1847, included three "colored servants." At least one of those was a baptized Mormon whose descendants remained active in the Church for generations.

A newly released documentary, Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons, is now available on DVD from the FAIR LDS Online Bookstore. This celebrated documentary about African American Latter-day Saints was headed by Margaret Young and Darius Gray, authors of several award-winning books and articles about black Mormons. It was edited by Jim Hughes and Danor Gerald.

The documentary uncovers the little-known legacy of black Mormons and confronts the hard issues that surfaced in the most turbulent years of the Civil Rights Movement, when the Church's long-standing priesthood restrictions became a focus of national attention. It discusses how that restriction was lifted and examines the lives and challenges of modern black Mormon pioneers.

Besides never-before-released footage and many rare archival photographs, the documentary includes interviews with renowned scholars, historians, religious leaders, and black Mormons. Featured are interviews with Martin Luther King III and with Dr. Cecil "Chip" Murray, retired pastor of the First AME Church of Los Angeles, founded by a former slave of Mormon pioneers.

There are many myths about black Mormons that are repeated in the press and even by members of the LDS church.

This DVD dispels many of those myths and creates a better understanding of our history. The DVD is available An online article discussing blacks online discussion

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RELIGION MODERATOR Caucus guidelines

[Utah Binger]

Your name is famous in this view.

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authors Darius Gray & Margaret Blair Young

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DATE : Thu, 2 Feb 2006 16:08:00 GMT
Entered in Database : 2006-02-02 16:08:00
length : 33248419
Link to the Show / Show Notes

An encore broadcast in commemoration of Black History Month. Margaret Blair Young and Darius Gray are the authors of a trilogy of books on Black LDS History, called “Standing on the Promises.” The books, each named for an African American spiritual, are “One More River to Cross,” “Bound for Canaan,” and “The Last Mile of the Way.” They take us on a remarkable journey from the 1800’s to the present — revealing an African-American presence in the LDS church from its very beginnings. This is a history that until now was largely known only to those remarkable saints who lived it. That’s this week, on the Cricket and Seagull... - SKP

Audio
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCricketandSeagullFiresideChat/~5/35683630/cs-grayyoungresend.mp3

[Texan Tory]

“Right, and I noticed the hundreds . . . well, maybe dozens . . . well maybe . . . one or two . . . well maybe, NO BLACKS anywhere in the massive tabernacle choir or in their massive orchestra . . . or did I miss something?”

First of all, there really are not very many black latter-day saints, so there is a pretty small talent pool from which to select blacks to serve in the choir or orchestra, and it may be that very few of them even want to volunteer for it. Are black members being excluded from the choir or orchestra because of their race? I really doubt it. If anything, the church would probably like to have some blacks there just to emphasize that they are welcome in the church, but you can’t force people to join the choir or orchestra. People also complain about the very low representation of blacks at Republican conventions, as if Republicans are somehow intentionally excluding blacks; you can’t force blacks to join the Republican Party either. The Democrats use the low number of black Republicans as an argument that blacks shouldn’t become Republicans, because “see how few blacks there are, they don’t want you.” So this becomes a self-reinforcing argument, and is very difficult to overcome. The truth is, there is a stigma among your peers if you’re black and you become a Republican, and even more so if you’re black and you become a Mormon. If you’re black and have some interest in singing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, you have to ask yoursef if you want to volunteer and be the only one of your race there, subjecting yourself to the taunts of your non-Mormon friends and family. I know I would feel pretty hesitant about it.