An Everyday Mormon

Recent demonstrations, protests, and petitions in the past month calling for solutions to systemic racism after George Floyd’s and thousands of others’ violent deaths by law enforcement has brought about some serious discussions on race in America. Never in my lifetime has any cause or call to action been so widely spoken about and seriously discussed by politicians and Americans alike. For perhaps the first time in the country’s history, a large portion of white Americans are acknowledging, confronting, and pushing to change systems of oppression that cater to and benefit the white community while discriminating people of color. This discussion and awareness has even reached my own predominantly white Latter-day Saint community in the United States. I’ve been encouraged by the reaction of many of my Latter-day Saint peers, sharing their own experiences and thoughts to stand up for our marginalized African American siblings. For example, my local congregation in Los Angeles hosted an...

This was originally posted on my personal Facebook account on June 2, 2020. Privilege is worrying about property damage instead of mourning the loss of thousands of lives to injustice. Privilege is fretting about riots during this past week instead of fearing for your life every time you raise your voice or encounter law enforcement in your everyday life. Privilege is feeling guilty for being silent or complicit in a system of racism instead of being victims of hundreds of years of systemic oppression and injustice. Nothing will change unless those with privilege and power start to listen to people of color, LGBTQ, and other marginalized groups. If we believe that #blacklivesmatter , then we must believe that black voices matter or else we are all talk, only caring about returning to the status quo that privileges us whites and not genuinely concerned with ending the injustice that people of color experience in our country every day. It’s important for me as a white, straight, male to ...