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This again, was a number of years back, but One of my friends who teaches in Jordan had a parent email him about wanting to educate his class about the Stars and Bars. She claimed that it didn’t represent racism and that the south gets a bad rap because slavery taught Africans about god and how to govern and now their descendants enjoy the freedoms of modern-day America.
I’ll be honest, I bet at least half of Utahns polled probably would agree with that. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard at church that blacks have it good now that they live in modern-day America and are given an advantage with affirmative action.
Anyone else remember this? This was just in 2012, so not even very long ago at one of the two major institutions in the state:
https://www.heraldextra.com/news/lo...cle_7839e140-3e35-5b59-bbc4-3331e6d3d4c3.html
Racism is just so entrenched in this state. It’s just a little more subtle and entrenched in the dominant religion so much that those belonging to the church often don’t recognize it. Utah was the last state to recognize MLK day:
https://localtvkstu.wordpress.com/2...to-name-mlk-day-and-it-came-close-to-failing/
A big reason why? The state’s dominant religion was working against civil rights for most of the past century:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_and_Mormonism
And many top leaders thought the civil rights movement was a front for communism. Doesn't Ezra Taft Benson’s views sound familiar with some of the anti BLM rhetoric we hear today?
he even wrote a book denouncing the civil rights movement.
Amazon product ASIN B0007FRU42My point in bringing this all up isn’t to bash any (my) religion or state. I’m personally encouraged by Pres Nelson’s efforts to reach out to the black community. His words about racists needing to repent was right on the money.
My point in bringing this up is to understand, we are merely 60ish years removed from this. Many who grew up with Pres Nelson grew up believing that blacks were inferior. Many of the people who grew up during this time are the ones who established the current racist institutions and policies we are dealing with today. Of course we should expect pushback from white people who don’t feel like they’re racist or Claim to not support racism but only “blue lives.” Of course we should expect minorities to be lacking trust and struggling in a society purposely geared to jeep them down. I think there is great need to understand history and learn about the institutions and policies, and work to change them for a more equitable society.
People in our state could benefit by listening to people like JJ or Spida instead of always reacting in a defensive manner.
I Don’t claim to know much about racism. I do however understand the privilege that exists. I’ve studied the institutions of privilege. So that’s why I think it’s wise to listen to groups like BLM and individuals like Spida who provide the state with a much needed voice.
I’ll be honest, I bet at least half of Utahns polled probably would agree with that. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard at church that blacks have it good now that they live in modern-day America and are given an advantage with affirmative action.
Anyone else remember this? This was just in 2012, so not even very long ago at one of the two major institutions in the state:
https://www.heraldextra.com/news/lo...cle_7839e140-3e35-5b59-bbc4-3331e6d3d4c3.html
In a Washington Post article in February about Mitt Romney's presidential candidacy, Bott was quoted by reporter Jason Horowitz as saying that the denial of the Mormon priesthood to blacks on Earth -- although not in the afterlife -- protected them from the lowest rungs of hell reserved for people who abuse their priesthood powers.
"You couldn't fall off the top of the ladder, because you weren't on the top of the ladder. So, in reality the blacks not having the priesthood was the greatest blessing God could give them."
Racism is just so entrenched in this state. It’s just a little more subtle and entrenched in the dominant religion so much that those belonging to the church often don’t recognize it. Utah was the last state to recognize MLK day:
https://localtvkstu.wordpress.com/2...to-name-mlk-day-and-it-came-close-to-failing/
A big reason why? The state’s dominant religion was working against civil rights for most of the past century:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_and_Mormonism
The church also advocated for segregation laws and enforced segregation in its facilities. Hotel Utah, a church-run hotel, banned black guests, even when other hotels made exceptions for black celebrities.[30] Blacks were prohibited from performing in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, and the Deseret News did not allow black people to appear in photographs with white people. Church leaders urged white members to join civic groups and opened up LDS chapels "for meetings to prevent Negroes from becoming neighbors", even after a 1948 Supreme Court decision against racial covenants in housing. They counseled members to buy homes so black people wouldn't move next to LDS chapels.[1]:67 In the 1950s, the San Francisco mission office took legal action to prevent black families from moving into the church neighborhood.[31] A black man living in Salt Lake City, Daily Oliver, described how, as a boy in the 1910s, he was excluded from an LDS-led boy scout troop because they did not want blacks in their building.[32][33]
In 1959, the Utah State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights stated that: "the Negro is the minority citizen who experiences the most widespread inequality in Utah. The exact extent of his mistreatment is almost impossible to ascertain", explaining that 'Mormon interpretation attributes birth into any race other than the white race as a result of inferior performance in a pre-earth life and teaches that by righteous living, the dark-skinned races may again become 'white and delightsome."
And many top leaders thought the civil rights movement was a front for communism. Doesn't Ezra Taft Benson’s views sound familiar with some of the anti BLM rhetoric we hear today?
In the October 1967 General Conference Apostle Ezra Benson declared that the civil rights movement was a tool of Communist revolutionaries, and that it was led by mostly white male Communists who want to "destroy America by spilling Negro blood". He also stated that accusing law enforcement of "police brutality" against black people should be recognized as attempts to discredit and discourage law enforcement.
he even wrote a book denouncing the civil rights movement.
Amazon product ASIN B0007FRU42My point in bringing this all up isn’t to bash any (my) religion or state. I’m personally encouraged by Pres Nelson’s efforts to reach out to the black community. His words about racists needing to repent was right on the money.
My point in bringing this up is to understand, we are merely 60ish years removed from this. Many who grew up with Pres Nelson grew up believing that blacks were inferior. Many of the people who grew up during this time are the ones who established the current racist institutions and policies we are dealing with today. Of course we should expect pushback from white people who don’t feel like they’re racist or Claim to not support racism but only “blue lives.” Of course we should expect minorities to be lacking trust and struggling in a society purposely geared to jeep them down. I think there is great need to understand history and learn about the institutions and policies, and work to change them for a more equitable society.
People in our state could benefit by listening to people like JJ or Spida instead of always reacting in a defensive manner.
I Don’t claim to know much about racism. I do however understand the privilege that exists. I’ve studied the institutions of privilege. So that’s why I think it’s wise to listen to groups like BLM and individuals like Spida who provide the state with a much needed voice.
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