If they seem obvious to you: great! You're probably already doing these things! If they seem suspect or like overkill to you, maybe examine why.
I hardly need to make the disclaimer that I'm not an expert. I'm a white Latter-day Saint who is taking a few steps into the unknown and, knowing that antiracism isn't a checklist or a self-improvement project, trying to have some sort of a sketch of a plan that I can share with interested friends.
The general format of what follows is: scripture, interpretation, action. Repeated a bunch of times. :) This is going to be a total of 4 posts covering 10 ideas for white Latter-day Saints about combating racism at church and being more inclusive at church.
TL;DR:
1) Learn the history while fortifying my faith.
2) Actively teach and be inclusive with kids.
3) Attend Black-led events and plan inclusive events.
1) "Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith"
Don't just start learning, keep learning, and use the best books. Study and pray. Look for everything, not just the easy stuff.
Action: Assuming that I want to challenge and change the racism in my church, I will continue to learn about my church's racist past and connect it with the Teachings, Attitudes and Perceptions (as mentioned in previous post) that continue today. I will not ignore the hard stuff, but I will also not let it consume me. I will talk with trusted friends and leaders about what I learn.
*For anyone who hasn't already read much on this topic, you might start with Race and the Priesthood, Saints vol 2 (chapters 5, 12, 13, and 39 are particularly relevant), and Healing the Wounds of Racism, all on the Church website. I have more links listed at the bottom of the final post, but if you feel like getting academic about it: I loved David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism for a look at mid-century history that deals with the priesthood and temple ban in depth. A few more that I have either not read yet, or have started but not finished: Decolonizing Mormonism; Religion of a Different Color; Race and the Making of the Mormon People; Mormonism and White Supremacy; and The Book of Mormon for the Least of These.
**If you are worried that you will come across something that will shake your testimony, remember this: lots of things can shake your testimony when you least expect it. Fortify your testimony in the ways that are natural for you. Trust in God. Take the examination of our past at your own pace, while continuing to nurture your own faith in study, prayer, and service. Find trusted friends and leaders to discuss it all with. But don't stop seeking real knowledge, and that includes this real and raw history so that you have a better understanding of why racist teachings, attitudes, and perceptions continue in our church today.
2) "But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another"
This verse directly follows a verse that says we should take care of our kids and teach them not to fight. I imagine that King Benjamin is saying, "OK here are the basics when you're in charge of kids: Keep them fed and clothed. Don't let them fight. And, help them to love each other actively."
Action: This action for white Latter-day Saints is a two-parter. First part: We will talk about racism with our kids at home AND be actively inclusive at home. (Many people of color provide free resources on this: a few are Here We Read, First Name Basis, The Conscious Kid) And we will discuss racism and inclusivity specifically in the context of the Church. This is not a one-time FHE lesson; this is an ongoing lifelong conversation, that is part of daily interactions as well as sit-down discussions, especially since we're all going to keep learning outside the home too, and bringing home new perspectives with us.
When the 2020 Come Follow Me manual came out and it became clear that a disavowed racist teaching was included, what did you say to your kids in the lesson that week? Did you point it out, and wonder out loud how it might have gotten there? (See also: Teachings, Attitudes, and Perceptions, previous post.) Did you X out that part with a Sharpie, explain that we are still working on overcoming our racism as a church, and talk about how to move forward? If you didn't: consider bringing it up soon as part of a Come Follow Me discussion. If we don't talk about it with our kids, how will they know what we think about it?
In another life, I worked in curriculum editing at the Church Office Building. These manuals take years to produce. Multiple writers, copyeditors, proofreaders, and fact-checkers look at them. Lots of eyes rested on that paragraph before it was published. I wonder if some people thought it might be a problem to include that paragraph, but maybe they didn't say anything for whatever reason. Was this an error? Maybe. But it was an egregious one. And it was also a mistake. People make mistakes. Even leaders do and even prophets do. It's OK to talk about that with our kids. It's necessary to talk about it with them.
Second part: I will actively look for ways for my kids to learn to be inclusive through play at home and at church. Nursery, Primary, and youth programs can all be thoughtfully inclusive, if we try. I will never forget when I was Primary president and a white nursery worker purchased some Black baby dolls for the nursery. There was a little Black girl in our nursery. The nursery worker did not make a big deal about it; she just did it. And the little girl could play with baby dolls who looked like her. And, very importantly, the other kids could play with them too.
I would love it if we purposely had baby dolls of varying races in all of our church nurseries, even if every child in the room is blonde, because young children learn through play. Jesus loves all children of every race, and so do we. Imagine the power of that visual for children. Now imagine a room full of blonde kids holding blonde baby dolls and learning (implicitly--I know no one is saying this in a church nursery) how Jesus loves all the little blonde children. Creepy, right? Which speaks to another related topic which is LDS Art, and Jasmine Bradshaw has a great podcast episode about that.
If you are feeling like it seems like overkill to purchase an array of baby dolls or Barbies for your children, your preschool, or your church nursery: where is that coming from? Interrogate that. You don't have to make a big deal about it. It's okay if you feel silly. Just try it. Be natural about it. The kids may or may not even mention it. If they do, then bam: learning opportunity. If anyone asks about it, you can briefly explain why. "We're trying to be inclusive with the toys because Jesus loves all children of every color, and so do we." If a child says something about the doll that sounds racist, don't get embarrassed or laugh at them. Remember you're the teacher and you are helping this child. Gently talk about the doll in the same way that you've practiced teaching kids about racism in general. Maybe this gets into tricky territory, but if I'm off base about it, I am more than willing to listen. Regardless, make sure the Black dolls are taken care of just as well as the white dolls, especially their hair. (I can't remember where I read this but I thought it was a great point.)
3) "Ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God"
I love this message of unity.
One of the most stirring Church events I have been to in recent years has been our stake's annual interfaith Christmas devotional. My friend Martha organized beautiful Christmas concerts each year that included a variety of Christian churches, including Black churches and churches with diverse congregations. She attended events at their congregations too. One beauty (of many) of the Black church is music, and music is a universal language. I have never forgotten the spirit I felt in our own stake center with so many people of other faiths worshiping in ways that spoke to all of us.
Action: I will look for interfaith gatherings hosted by various churches (obviously we'll need to put a pin in IRL gatherings for now) and Black-led gatherings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If I am in charge of events in my ward or stake, I will consider visiting nearby churches with a more diverse congregation than ours, getting to know their leadership and members, and inviting them in return to: serve with us, eat with us, sing with us. I will do this in ways that make sense to me--through friends of friends, for example, or through connections I make online or at community events.
Also: Attending protests, rallies, or vigils (or any other community event we are invited to) with Black friends is not a church thing per se, but I think it can be a very holy and certainly a communal experience to spend time in that space where white people are not the leaders or the decision makers.
Black Lives Matter to Christ is "a space to engage with, learn about, and celebrate the stories of Black LDS members in all of their complexities and diversity." There will be a virtual Juneteenth fireside, streaming on the Facebook page this Friday night.
The Black LDS Legacy conference occurs annually on Presidents/Valentines Day weekend at the DC temple visitors center. This is a Black-led, Church-sanctioned physical space, which in Mormonism is somewhat unique and is also so vital. As a white person, if I attend this conference, I'm going in as an observer, a listener, a learner, a supporter. I am not in charge. No one is asking me to speak at the pulpit. I am not offering to speak at the pulpit. What I have to contribute will show up in my future actions and relationships. *If you don't live in DC, you can still join the Facebook group, and you can still watch and listen to previous conferences in the Videos section. Great for a Sunday afternoon while you're making dinner. Or any time.
More soon.
*
Series:
Part 1: Unspotted from the world
Part 2: Seek ye diligently
Part 3: Mourn with those that mourn
Part 4: In much patience
Part 5: "Come here" and "go there"
2 comments:
So much to digest - I almost wish I had little kids at home to teach! When I was a girl, my grandmother gave Alice and me little Black baby dolls - they were the kind you could bathe, which is what we wanted. I don't know if she couldn't find any white ones, or if the Black dolls were cheaper - she was from Kentucky and was pretty racially insensitive on many levels. But my mom didn't make a big deal out of it and encouraged us to play with them along with our other dolls, so we did. It was something I have never forgotten. But I don't think I bought racially diverse dolls for you guys.
The doll thought just came up as I was remembering this woman in my ward who was so thoughtful and observant. I think there are other things to do to encourage inclusion at home including with older kids. Inviting friends of all races over is the best example i can think of, because those invitations encourage closer friendships. but I‘m sure there are other things to do. I think for white Latter-day Saints, weaving antiracism and appreciation (not to be confused with appropriation) of other cultures into any day to day. Lessons at church—with visual aids, use pictures or props featuring Black people. And of course the books and poems we read and the art on the walls and the music we listen to and so on.
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