Description
Co-directors and producers: Margaret B. Young and Darius A. Gray. Edited by: Jim Hughes and K. Danor Gerald. Sponsored by: Independent Features Projects (IFP). 2009. DVD.
There has been a continuous African American presence in the LDS Church from its earliest days. Until the 1850’s, some Black converts were even ordained to the Mormon priesthood. This documentary discusses the little-known legacy. It also confronts the hard issues which surfaced during the 1960’s, when the Civil Rights Movement drew attention to the Church’s priesthood restriction. That restriction was lifted in 1978, which opened the door for an influx of new Black Mormon pioneers.
Never-release footage shot in 1968 joins rare archival photographs in this documentary, which also includes interviews with Martin Luther King lll, Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray, as well as many renowned scholars, historians, Black Mormons, and descendants of Black Mormon pioneers.
This DVD is currently out of print. When they are gone, they’re gone.
