I have been thinking a lot about racism and church members lately (you can probably guess why), and I wanted to go back to the issue of Black men being denied the priesthood for several years.
Yes, you can read an essay on that:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng
You may also find that the essay leaves a lot to be desired, not really giving a good answer except pointing out that racism was common at the time, and bringing up any instances of things that did not look racist. These essays nonetheless disturbed several members badly, shaking their testimonies.
At the time I was among those unimpressed. I had already been pretty sure that the real issue had been racism, so I didn't explore it very much at the time. Now I am more aware that it is important that The Essays exist, and ways in which their weaknesses can be important too.
First off, let me tell you why I wasn't surprised. I graduated from the University of Oregon in 1996 with a dual major of Romance Languages and History. One of the requirements for a history degree was a Seminar. There were several options, but all of them consisted of large amounts of weekly readings (mainly from historical journals), discussions with the rest of the seminar on the readings, and a twenty-page research paper. You needed professor approval to get into a class, so it was helpful if you took one with a professor you already knew. I took African Americans in the American West, with Professor Quintard Taylor Jr (now an emeritus professor at University of Washington.) Each week of readings had a different theme, and one of the weeks was on African Americans and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
I really wish I had kept my syllabus, because I cannot find what I read then on William McCary. I am pretty sure he was instrumental in the priesthood ban.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McCary
https://www.blackpast.org/special-features/african-americans-and-church-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints-old/
To sum up, William McCary was a Black man who joined the church in 1846, got the priesthood, and then got excommunicated for claiming various powers (so the story goes; I think I remember the word 'priestcraft" from one of the journal articles) around 1847. The earliest statement on Black men being excluded from the priesthood happened about a month after McCary's excommunication.
It is entirely possible that McCary behaved in very unbecoming ways for a priesthood holder, but it is also certain that he married a white woman, and then additional white women, and that there were deeply entrenched (and hypocritical) taboos around that at the time. The essay does point out the prevalent racism at the time.
What they don't really pick up on, though (and the essay does not mention McCary), is that many white men were excommunicated at different times, and no one ever suggested a ban on white men holding the priesthood. Sure, the ones deciding were white; it's not likely they would decide that. That's the insidious thing about white supremacy: whites are individuals, but if you are not white, then you are judged by every one else of your color. There is that "See! I knew they couldn't handle it!". Maybe there had been a belief that it wouldn't work that they were trying to bury, and then McCary becomes the excuse. That lasted for over a century, limiting growth, causing pain, and allowing racism to remain entrenched.
This is not meant to be an attack on Brigham Young or Parley P. Pratt or anyone else involved. However, it is an encouragement to take a closer look, and to understand better.
For years it was this uncomfortable thing that people didn't really want to talk about, but that meant that the people who did feel comfortable talking about it were the ones who would say things like "they were just less valiant". If we can't grapple with racism existing in exemplary church members of one hundred and fifty years ago, how are we going to grapple with the racism that exists now? I assure you, the current racism requires some grappling.
I know this is getting long, but I want to make some points from the essay itself.
William McCary was never mentioned in it. Q. Walker Lewis is, because Brigham Young praised him once, and we will often get this tendency to try and point out all of the good things. Lots of white people in other Christian churches love to praise Simon of Cyrene and Ebed-Melech, because, see! We love Black people! (Especially when they are serving white people, and it's convenient if they are also eunuchs.) I don't have a problem with noticing the good, but let's be realistic about the bad.
Also, there is this second paragraph of the Essay:
The structure and organization of the Church encourage racial integration. Latter-day Saints attend Church services according to the geographical boundaries of their local ward, or congregation. By definition, this means that the racial, economic, and demographic composition of Latter-day Saint congregations generally mirrors that of the wider local community.
Technically true, but it ignores that at least in the United States there have been centuries of restricted covenants, redlining, and systemic destruction of communities where Black people were becoming financially successful, not to mention white flight. That means that not specifically aiming for integration leaves you segregated. That doesn't mean that wards shouldn't be arranged by geography, but if even when we are attempting to address personal racism we ignore structural racism, we continue to enable all racism.
The final point I want to make is that there are people who know about these things. Our church leaders are not experts on racism, but they can ask others and listen to others. I may have spent more time than necessary on my academic background, but my point there was that in 1996 this information was available, so there was no need for it to catch anyone off guard in 2013.
We can do better than this. We may be running out of time to do so, individually and collectively.
Let's do better.
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