. . . and [God] inviteth all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female . . . and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile. - 2 Nephi 26:33 (emphasis added).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is no stranger to the myriad of issues surrounding racial inequality in the United States. The Church's priesthood ban on males of African descent until 1978 presented a significant hurdle for membership growth outside the United States and Europe. Yet while most Latter-day Saints living today were not part of the pre-1978 generation, some racial stereotypes of those of African descent remain part of Mormonism's largely white, conservative culture.
Does Mormonism inform or actively promote racism?
Having grown up as a Latter-day Saint, I don't remember anything overtly racist being uttered over the pulpit. In fact, I remember more prejudice being shown toward Hispanics by my classmates at school than anything else. However, traditional/folk views about the reason black males were withheld from priesthood service were abundant. The curse of Cain was probably the most common, but always shared with the rejoinder that all the blessings afforded to worthy individuals of any race are now available to all those who worthily qualify. Another explanation was that blacks were somehow less-valiant in the pre-existence, which meant that the priesthood would be withheld from them until a future, pre-ordained time. The latter view was one I held for well over a decade, until I (fortunately) encountered information that prompted me to change my views. Since that time, I've actively supported racial equality, and have come to view the Church's previous stance on the priesthood ban to be utterly misguided and wrong. This is position that many LDS scholars and Church leaders have since come to accept and advocate.
That being said, I was at times discouraged to see my fellow Church members defending traditionalist/folk views about the priesthood ban while attending Brigham Young University-Idaho. Racism, even in its must subtle forms, still found ways to raise its ugly head. This is perhaps best illustrated by a social experiment conducted at BYU-Idaho's sister campus, located a few hundred miles to the south in Provo, Utah. Recently, Dave Ackerman, a self-described comedian, visited BYU's Provo campus to survey views about Black History Month and about African Americans in general. Rather than conducting the interviews as a white male, he chose to do them in blackface. It was extremely disturbing to see statements from BYU students that perpetuate and even reinforce stereotypes about African Americans. Even more so, it is unfortunate that BYU, and other universities like it, tacitly tolerates coded racism and other forms of discrimination that devalue and disregard the value of individuals of all races as co-equal human beings.
I add my voice of disapproval for Ackerman's actions, as well as the statements of students (whether they intended racism or not). Stand up against racism and the perpetuation of damaging stereotypes.
