In practice, however, she said this has historically meant “putting the impetus on people of color, marginalized communities to make white people feel safer.” In theory, Teitter agrees with this principle. “We don’t necessarily trust white families to be doing this work in their homes.”Īnother theme the psychologist has continued to notice in these conversations on racial discrimination and trauma is the emphasis that, in the end, people choose when to be offended. “Those of us who are a racial minority really need to know that this is a global effort of abandoning prejudice and owning when you haven’t completely done so,” she said. “At the end of the day, church leaders still see these as conversations meant to take place in the home,” she said, and not the public square - an idea she pushes back against. Still, Teitter said, there’s much that remains unchanged when it comes to the church’s messaging around race and racism. Nelson during the announcement of new joint initiatives with the NAACP in Salt Lake City on Monday, June 14, 2021. Brown and LDS Church President Russell M. (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Amos C. Oaks, Nelson’s top counselor and next in line for the faith’s presidency, stated in a speech at church-owned Brigham Young University that Black lives matter is an “eternal truth all reasonable people should support,” before proceeding to decry “systemic discrimination” and police brutality aimed at Black Americans. God does not love one race more than another.” He then called on Latter-day Saints to “lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice.”Ī month later, Dallin H. In that talk, an excerpt of which is linked to in the email, the 97-year-old president said, “Brothers and sisters, please listen carefully to what I am about to say. The email, listed under the church’s “Inspiration and News” group email, comes a little more than a year after Nelson spoke in General Conference about racism.
“Being more vocal about diversity and emphasizing belonging over mere inclusion is one way to help international members feel part of this growing faith.” Top two leaders speak out “The church recognizes that it’s a global church,” said Graham-Russell, who also is a doctoral candidate at Harvard University in religious studies. Janan Graham-Russell, a Mormon studies fellow at the University of Utah, said this pivot toward highlighting diversity reflects church leaders’ sensitivity to the increasingly international nature of the faith. “Seek to understand all perspectives,” stated the link to the article. In the past, she said, they were more likely to sidestep conversations and concerns around diversity by emphasizing that “we are all united as children of God.”įor instance, this colorblind language is how many Latter-day Saint leaders have responded to the 1978 revocation of the priesthood and temple ban on Black members, evoking a verse from the faith’s signature scripture, the Book of Mormon, that “all are alike unto God.”īy contrast, the recent email linked to a Black Latter-day Saint’s story in which the author describes her own experience as the target of racism and other forms of discrimination in South Africa, where she lives. Nelson’s leadership in the way church authorities address “inclusion and diversity issues.” Kimberly Applewhite Teitter says she is "not sure there’s a clear sense in the upper echelons of the church of just how bad is in the trenches.”Įven more than these two events, however, Teitter believes the email represents an ongoing shift under President Russell M. (Photo courtesy of Kimberly Applewhite Teitter)
Federal investigators found “systemic failures in the school district’s handling of complaints of racial student-on-student and staff-on-student harassment.” Kimberly Applewhite Teitter, a Black Latter-day Saint who works as a Salt Lake City-based licensed psychologist specializing in racial trauma and child psychology, believes the church’s email represents both a response to Izzy’s death as well as a recent report issued by the U.S. School district officials are in the process of launching an independent investigation of the matter. The girl died after what her mother, Brittany Tichenor-Cox, described as relentless bullying over her race and autism. The email came three days after the suicide of 10-year-old Isabella “Izzy” Tichenor, a Black and autistic Davis County student, and included resources for parents to help them talk to their children about embracing diversity. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called on its members to “be inclusive, not just accepting” in an email it sent out this month. If you or people you know are at risk of self-harm, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24-hour support at 1-80.