Tim Townsend’s article on Monday touched on a topic close to my heart, that is: the experience of black members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To read his story, Black Mormons straddle two worlds on 30th anniversary – click here.

I have to admit, Tim’s story, while balanced and refreshing, was also hard to read. Especially hard for me to read was a comment made by my friend, Latter-day Saint (Mormon) convert, Nekisha Rhodes who says she is “comfortable being uncomfortable” as she struggles to learn more about the heritage of her new-found faith, a heritage that includes a church policy, lifted 30 years ago, prohibiting black male members from the priesthood.

Nekisha sounds much like many African American Latter-day Saints when they candidly express their faith and experience in the church. Catherine Stokes, Latter-day Saint and former assistant director, Office of Health Care Regulation, for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said:

“When I joined the Church, most of my friends and acquaintances thought I had taken leave of my senses. Some early comments were, ‘I thought you were smart until you joined the Mormon Church.’ ‘Are you the only black member they have?’…Are there diverse opinions about race among members of the Church? Of course there are, and they run the spectrum. At the same time, there is a no more welcoming, loving, helping place…The commonality of membership in the Church brings an instant rapport and is a true expression of Christian love.” ( source: church public affairs pamphlet, 5/03, 36876)

While Nekisha’s statement reflects her determined faith and love for her new church home, I doubt many leaders of our church would read Nekisha’s statement and not feel anxiety or wonder how we can help her and others to feel more comfortable.

Have we fallen short?

Nekisha’s and others’ statements are evidence we can do more.

Have we come far in healing our hearts over the last 30 years?

Yes.

But my question is, if we don’t look back, how can we measure how far we have come?

So I appreciate that my church is sponsoring the June 8th commemoration of the priesthood being extended to all worthy males, that opened the priesthood not only to black men, but Temple worship and Temple marriage and mission service to black men and women.

I am also grateful for the pioneering work of Darius Gray and Margaret Young who have produced a film: Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons . It is a sensitive work that examines the black Latter-day Saints’ experience, past and present. Learn more and see the trailer — click here.

Opportunities to look back can help us answer questions about the past. Even more importantly, such moments inspire some searching questions: “what can be the experience of black members of the church going forward?”

The value of studying and celebrating history is in what it portends for the future. It’s no wonder that those who are “uncomfortable” — black and white — want to look back to find reconciliation.

The value of looking back was apparent to me as our city of St. Louis commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Dred Scott decision. The commemoration committee choose to focus not on the infamous Supreme Court decision exclusively, but also on the honorable lives of Dred and Harriet Scott.

I represent my church on the Friends of Dred Scott commemoration committee that recently successfully completed a year-long commemoration with institutions gathered in St. Louis and across the United States giving tribute to two humble itinerant slaves — Dred and Harriet Scott — unsung heroes, who sought to bring about freedom for their posterity by peacefully appealing for justice through the court system. Their faith in the system was dashed by the heavy-handed Supreme Court decision that denied their petition for freedom. The decision further divided the nation and ultimately led to civil war that, while tragic, resulted in uniting the nation on a corrected course, one we are continuing to align ourselves more perfectly with, as Senator Barack Obama has recently acknowledged in his speech: A More Perfect Union.

The year-long Dred Scott 150th commemoration ended with an unprecedented Gala gathering of the community represented by diverse Missouri institutions. The spirit of the evening is one I hope we can capture everyday in every institution and neighborhood. There was no “us and them” mentality, but rather a feeling of goodwill reflected in renewed spirited determination to live our lives as Dred and Harriet did, standing for truth and justice.

Despite such good outcomes resulting from celebrating the past, some would say we need to just move on, stop talking about issues of equality. There seems to be two camps, each camp made-up of whites and blacks and others, in and out of the faith. Those who want to talk and those who don’t.

Paul Sleet, president of the Pagedale branch of the Church in St. Louis, Missouri, quoted in Tim Townsend’s article, acknowledged that within our faith, “people don’t want to talk about it.”

Assuming the best of intentions, those who “don’t want to talk” often believe that by looking back we dredge up old wounds better left untouched. Or that by examining and celebrating ethnicity and equality we are in some way acknowledging differences and thereby we are not being color-blind. Still, others just don’t know how to talk about it.

At an anti-racism workshop I attended the speaker made a statement that has stayed with me and I believe to be true. He said: “race matters until race doesn’t matter.”

Latter-day Saints want to achieve a color-blind community of members, where we esteem each person a brother or sister regardless of ethnicity. Ahmad Corbitt, black church leader and director of the New York Public Affairs Office for the church, is often quoted as saying that our outreach in predominately black communities is NOT about affirmative action, but it is about being Christian, loving our neighbor. He makes a key point about our motivations.

So the question might be asked: Can we talk about the issues without causing the divide to be enlarged or the wounds to be reopened?

I believe we can.

Talking is important to build understanding. But talking about issues of race is not easy for the aforementioned concerns of those who are reticent to talk.

I appreciate the pioneering efforts of Latter-day Saints, Marvin Perkins and Darius Gray, who are working to make the dialog easier. Their four-part DVD presentation –Blacks in the Scriptures – takes us way back to examine issues of race and equality in the scriptures. They are making a difference for some in our community — Latter-day Saints and others — who have longed for a sensitive and Christ-centered focus on issues of race.

As passionate as I am about dialog, I believe talk should inspire action.

In the city of St. Louis we have much work to do — people of all faiths and backgrounds –to bring people together. It begins and ends at the grassroots level within all institutions and families to enlarge our circles of friends to include those who may be different from us.

Faith-based organizations are especially positioned well to bring about change, new attitudes and understanding driven by their doctrines centered in justice and mercy, and as Christians, centered on the atonement. And families are where we find our most important role models.

As our church commemorates June 8th, this is my hope: that the celebrations will open our hearts and minds to new understandings, that we will be better informed about the experiences of our neighbors –our brothers and our sisters — and that we’ll become more capable in our spheres of leadership and influence to be sensitive to others.

Then perhaps Nekisha will say, “I am comfortable, period.”

Above photo is of Latter-day Saints in Ghana, courtesy of Kevin Miller, see more photos at blacklds.org.

Related links:

A Need for Greater Kindness, speech addressing racism, by then, Church President, Gordon B. Hinckley given in April 2006.

Paul Sleet, President of Pagedale branch, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — blogs about his ministry in Pagedale, Missouri, and shares messages with his flock.

Ahmad Corbitt – New York stake president and public affairs director.

www.blacklds.org — a website in support of black Latter-day Saints

Nekisha Rhodes, St. Louis LDS gospel singer on You Tube singing for St. Louis organization Better Family Life’s Unity Ball.

Blacks in the Scriptures – resource for dialoguing about issues of race and equality in the Church.

Nobody Knows: the Story of Black Mormons — film that takes a sensitive and balanced look at the past and present lives of black Latter-day Saints.

Discover Your Roots Missouri, an African American Family History Conference based in St. Louis, Missouri, sponsored by the Lindell ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other area institutions.

Black History Remembered – an initiative sponsored by the O’Fallon Illinois Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other other organizations to help youth commemorate the history in East St. Louis.

Darius Gray on Utah’s African-American Voices — discusses the Genesis Group, a church-spondored support group for black members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Genesis Group – church-sponsored support group for black LDS.

My Friend Nekisha – my story about friendship that crosses ethnic boundaries.

Alex Boye – black member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Christian singer.

Gladys Knight and the Saints United Voices Choir – grammy award winning choir made-up of diverse Latter-day Saints.