Documentary reveals history of black Mormons

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Skeletons, myth and folklore encompass most Latter-day Saints’ knowledge of the history of African Americans in the Church. Today, the BYU community is invited to rise above the confusion and watch the documentary, “Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons,” in the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.

Margaret Young and Darius Gray, producers of this award-winning documentary, will discuss the film with students after the showing. The documentary highlights the roles of early African American Saints during the pioneer era to the present. This includes a rare archival film shot in 1968 that depicts black Saints discussing their religion.

Margaret Young, producer of the film and faculty member in the BYU English Department, said inspiration for the film developed from misconceptions about blacks in the Church and priesthood restrictions. The Documentary Channel is now showing the film as part of Black History month and the Best of Black Documentary Cinema.

“Every Latter-day Saint should watch this as a reminder that God is no respecter of persons,” Young recounted from her discussion with a Documentary Channel representative.

Young said the film was made to reveal an accurate depiction of the history of black Latter-day Saints. She said the visual perspective will address issues that are still controversial in the Church today.

“The information in the film most BYU students will not be aware of and they will have questions for us to answer,” Young said. “We wanted to have each person [in the documentary] tell their own story in order for the audience to develop empathy.”

Kelsey Fitzgerald, a senior from Highland majoring in wildlife wildlands conservation, said she anticipates watching the film since she knows little about the history of black Mormons.

“I think it would be interesting to learn about the Church overcoming the priesthood restrictions, and how the black Latter-day Saints helped to make that become a reality,” Fitzgerald said.

Rebecca DeSchweinitz, a professor in the History Department, has shown this film in her African American history class. She said her students are impressed by the experiences and faith demonstrated by the black Saints highlighted in the documentary.

“The film is a courageous, faith-affirming depiction of one of the most critical stories in Mormon history,” DeSchweinitz said in an email. “It couldn’t have been created by more inspiring people than Margaret Young and Darius Gray, who made it with both a keen objective eye and personal insight drawn from lives filled with challenges and faith.”

DeSchweinitz said the film is important for Latter-day Saints to see so they can overcome misunderstandings about the role African Americans have played in Mormon history.

“The film does a great job of dispelling so many of the myths surround the priesthood restrictions,” DeSchwinitz said. “It does so in a way that ultimately affirms rather than challenges testimonies of the gospel . . . I sincerely hope that every BYU student gets a chance to see this film and meet the producers sometime during their time at the university.”

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