Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Interracial Mormon Marriages
But first, time out for an oldie-but-goodie …
Interracial Marriage - The Gathering Storm
Sorry, I needed that laugh. The original post continues below …
I’ve just finished watching a fascinating documentary on DVD that attempts to tell the story of black Mormons, who - according to the liner notes - “have been a continuous presence in the LDS church from its earliest days.” The creators bring an insider’s POV - but don’t flinch from grappling with Mormonism’s racist past - and I applaud their effort and welcome the Mormon conversation it has engendered.
That said, it wasn’t the film’s treatment of historical injustice that provoked me to write this post, but rather what the clip below reveals about an ongoing and very present cause for concern.
First, a quick synopsis to set up the clip:
00:00:00 - Faithful young Mormon couple, parents of nine
00:00:55 - Their encounter with racism inside the Salt Lake Temple
00:01:13 - “You speak such good English!”
00:01:25 - This worthy Mormon family is apparently not appropriate for LDS church media? Good enough to tithe, to attend the Mormon Temple, but not good enough for Mormon magazine covers? What is it with the Mormon church and its addiction to artifice and actors?
And here it is, a short excerpt from Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons …
For the record, I have no association with the folks who created Nobody Knows.
I’m too busy with my own documentary project (and I could probably use some help with the title, because it seems a bit long) …
“Everybody Knows Except the Mormons Who Never Got Told: Why a religion so rigid that until today it’s still grappling with the meaning of interracial marriage in its own church culture decided to bankroll a nationwide campaign to define marriage for the rest of the country.”
I have gone to the temple in Oakland, I felt a strangeness that I still can't explain to this day. I also had a chance to go to Salt Lake City to do research and came away with pretty much the same feeling.
I would also add that I have the “You speak such good English!” line tossed at me almost every where I have travelled or lived the the United States. It is usually followed by, did you grow up in a different country? I just bite down hard on my lip and then take a deep breath and say I went to school.
July 1, 2009 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink