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Previous: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1900-1903
The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1904-1907
In the April 1905 General Conference President Joseph F. Smith said, "I believe in the example that was set by the illustrious father of our country. On one occasion, it is told of him, as he was passing along with some of his aides, dressed in his uniform as general of the armies of the United States, that he met a colored man. The colored man, most reverently and courteously took off his hat and made a low bow to the general. The general took off his hat and bowed as courteously to the colored man. His associate generals remonstrated with him. They said, 'General, it is beneath Your dignity to bow to a negro.' General Washington turned to them and said, 'Gentlemen, I cannot afford to have a negro outdo me in courtesy.' So it would be well for us as Latter-day Saints, and as the children of the Latter-day Saints, and as the teachers of the children of this people, to teach courtesy and respect toward all mankind, and implant kindness in the hearts of our children towards the unfortunate especially. There is too little of it.
"I go along the street here and I see little boys with cigarettes in their mouths; I actually see young men, just budding into manhood with nasty stinking old pipes in their mouths, or with cigars between their teeth, as they walk along the streets. I see boys walk with beautiful young ladies on the sidewalks, smoking their cigars. I think it is contemptible to see boys with cigarettes and pipes and cigars in their mouths, puffing their infamous smudge into the faces of beautiful women. It is abominable. And when I see a man, a boy especially, with a cigar or a pipe in his mouth - the pipe is the worse, it stinks worse and it is more poisonous, a great deal, than the cigar is, although I have never tried either of them very much; but when I meet a youth with these attachments, I feel that if I could be justified under any circumstances in passing anyone by with contempt, they are the fellows that I would pass with contempt.
"I never like to bow or take off my hat to a boy or a young man with a cigar or a cigarette in his mouth. I don't like to bow to a cigarette. I don't like to bow and pay deference to a nasty old stinking tobacco pipe. I think that is more condescending by far than to bow to a courteous gentlemanly man who is unfortunate enough to be colored with a black skin. I have seen many polished gentlemen in my life who have been unfortunate enough not to be white, that is in their skin; but in their hearts and in their manners, in their courtesy and conduct, they were far superior to many of their boasting white brothers."
"I go along the street here and I see little boys with cigarettes in their mouths; I actually see young men, just budding into manhood with nasty stinking old pipes in their mouths, or with cigars between their teeth, as they walk along the streets. I see boys walk with beautiful young ladies on the sidewalks, smoking their cigars. I think it is contemptible to see boys with cigarettes and pipes and cigars in their mouths, puffing their infamous smudge into the faces of beautiful women. It is abominable. And when I see a man, a boy especially, with a cigar or a pipe in his mouth - the pipe is the worse, it stinks worse and it is more poisonous, a great deal, than the cigar is, although I have never tried either of them very much; but when I meet a youth with these attachments, I feel that if I could be justified under any circumstances in passing anyone by with contempt, they are the fellows that I would pass with contempt.
"I never like to bow or take off my hat to a boy or a young man with a cigar or a cigarette in his mouth. I don't like to bow to a cigarette. I don't like to bow and pay deference to a nasty old stinking tobacco pipe. I think that is more condescending by far than to bow to a courteous gentlemanly man who is unfortunate enough to be colored with a black skin. I have seen many polished gentlemen in my life who have been unfortunate enough not to be white, that is in their skin; but in their hearts and in their manners, in their courtesy and conduct, they were far superior to many of their boasting white brothers."
The Mormon Coon
On April 4, novelty singer Bob Roberts recorded a song by prolific lyricist Raymond A. Browne and composer Henry Gay Smith, entitled "The Mormon Coon". The record cover featured a blackface caricature of President Joseph F. Smith surrounded by wives of different races. Roberts sang,
"A coon named Ephraim skipped the town one day.
Nobody knew just why he went away,
Until one night a friend he got a note,
It was from Eph. and this is what he wrote:
'I'm out in Utah, in the Mormon land,
And going to stay, because I’m living grand,
I used to rave about a single life.
Now ev'ry day I get a brand new wife.'
'[Chorus]
I’ve got a big brunette,
And a blonde to pet.
I’ve got ‘em short, fat, thin and tall...
I’ve got a Cuban gal,
And a Zulu pal.
They come in bunches when I call;
And that’s not all –
'I've got 'em pretty, too.
Got a homely few,
I’ve got ‘em black to octoroon...
I can spare six or eight.
Shall I ship 'em by freight?
For I am the Mormon coon.'
'There's one gal I ain't married yet, but say,
I'm saving her up for a rainy day.
If you ain't never heard a cyclone roar,
Come up and hear just how my wives can snore.
If you stay out late you can "con" your wife.
If I got gay that mob would have my life,
It keeps me hustling in loving line.
They all yell out, "I saw him first, he's mine."
[Chorus]
'Next Fall they'll make me Gov'nor of the State;
The Parsons give me commutation rate;
I wish for ev'ry wife I had a cent,
Why, just for photographs, a house I rent.
I've got so many, I forget a lot.
I keep the marriage license door bell hot,
If on the street into a wife I run,
I have to ask her, "What's your number, Hon?"
[Chorus]
"A coon named Ephraim skipped the town one day.
Nobody knew just why he went away,
Until one night a friend he got a note,
It was from Eph. and this is what he wrote:
'I'm out in Utah, in the Mormon land,
And going to stay, because I’m living grand,
I used to rave about a single life.
Now ev'ry day I get a brand new wife.'
'[Chorus]
I’ve got a big brunette,
And a blonde to pet.
I’ve got ‘em short, fat, thin and tall...
I’ve got a Cuban gal,
And a Zulu pal.
They come in bunches when I call;
And that’s not all –
'I've got 'em pretty, too.
Got a homely few,
I’ve got ‘em black to octoroon...
I can spare six or eight.
Shall I ship 'em by freight?
For I am the Mormon coon.'
'There's one gal I ain't married yet, but say,
I'm saving her up for a rainy day.
If you ain't never heard a cyclone roar,
Come up and hear just how my wives can snore.
If you stay out late you can "con" your wife.
If I got gay that mob would have my life,
It keeps me hustling in loving line.
They all yell out, "I saw him first, he's mine."
[Chorus]
'Next Fall they'll make me Gov'nor of the State;
The Parsons give me commutation rate;
I wish for ev'ry wife I had a cent,
Why, just for photographs, a house I rent.
I've got so many, I forget a lot.
I keep the marriage license door bell hot,
If on the street into a wife I run,
I have to ask her, "What's your number, Hon?"
[Chorus]
Old Colored Folk on Hand
Writing of an Old Folk's Excursion on June 23, 1905, the Deseret News said: "Tenderly solicitous of her welfare, holding her by the arm and almost lifting her over the uneven spots on the ground was 'Uncle Isaac' Lewis Manning, and the woman whose arm he held was his sister, 'Aunt' Jane E. James. They are two of the oldest colored residents of Salt Lake, and while 'Uncle Isaac' admits that he is 92 years old, his sister, who is probably near that age, declined to tell just what is the number of her years. They have been members of the Mormon Church for nearly sixty-five years, having been baptized by John Wesley Randall, and during many of those years they were the personal servants of President Brigham Young."
Amy Robbins
Amy E. Robbins, a black woman living with her RLDS aunt in Detroit, Michigan, recalled, "One evening we went to a missionary service downstairs. The people there belonged to the same Church. The young priest, William Smith, preached about the restoration of the gospel in these latter days and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. It all sounded wonderful and I believed all he said without question. It had such a ring of truth that I could doubt nothing. After the service was over he asked if there were any questions. A minister from another Church asked many and offered objections to some of Mr. Smith's claims, especially about the Book of Mormon. I listened feverishly, for I did not see how he could answer some of the inquiries. My tension was relieved when every question and inquiry was answered from the Bible. I thought I had read the Bible through, but nothing I had read in the Bible sounded like what he read, and I thought it just could not be the same kind of Bible. I was thrilled beyond words with what I heard."
Amy was baptized into the Reorganized Church of Latter Day [sic] Saints (later the Community of Christ) on July 9, 1905. She recalled that "there was a Mr. Black, who was white and my aunt, Mrs. White, was black, and... I was brown and the Elder was white. These different colors were one in Jesus Christ.... I felt the spirit envelope me in a wonderful power that cannot be described in words, only that I was baptized by the Holy Ghost. At that time I received a definite knowledge of the truthfulness of the restored gospel of Christ. This was a turning point in my life and I experienced peace, joy and happiness in my endeavor to serve God."
Amy was baptized into the Reorganized Church of Latter Day [sic] Saints (later the Community of Christ) on July 9, 1905. She recalled that "there was a Mr. Black, who was white and my aunt, Mrs. White, was black, and... I was brown and the Elder was white. These different colors were one in Jesus Christ.... I felt the spirit envelope me in a wonderful power that cannot be described in words, only that I was baptized by the Holy Ghost. At that time I received a definite knowledge of the truthfulness of the restored gospel of Christ. This was a turning point in my life and I experienced peace, joy and happiness in my endeavor to serve God."
Jane Manning James' Testimony
In 1905 the editors of the Young Women's Journal recorded the testimony of Jane Manning James, and asked her if she had known Joseph Smith. She replied, "Yes, indeed, I guess I did know the Prophet Joseph. That lovely hand! He used to put it out to me. Never passed me without shaking hands with me wherever he was. Oh, he was the finest man I ever saw on earth. I did not get much of a chance to talk with him. He'd always smile, always just like he did to his children. He used to be just like I was his child. O yes, my, I used to read in the Bible so much and in The Book of Mormon and Revelations, and now I have to sit and can't see to read, and I think over them things, and I tell you I do wake up in the middle of the night, and I just think about Brother Joseph and Sister Emma and how good they was to me.
"When I went there I had only two things on me, no shoes nor stockings, wore them all out on the road. I had a trunk full of beautiful clothes, which I had sent around by water, and I was thinking of having them when I got to Nauvoo, and they stole them in St. Louis, and I did not have a rag of them. They [Joseph and Emma] was looking for us because I wrote them a letter. There was eight of us, my mother and two sisters and a brother and sister-in-law, and we had two children, one they had to carry all the way there, and we traveled a thousand miles. Sister Emma she come to the door first and she says, 'Walk in, come in all of you,' and she went up stairs, and down he comes and goes into the sitting room and told the girls that they had there, he wanted to have the room this evening, for we have got company come. I knew it was Brother Joseph because I had seen him in a dream.
"He went and brought Dr. Bernhisel down and Sister Emma, and introduced him to everyone of us, and said, 'Now, I want you to tell me about some of your hard trials. I want to hear of some of those hard trials.' And we told him. He slapped his hands. 'Dr. Bernhisel,' he said, 'I think if I had had it to do I should not have come; would not have had faith enough.' I was the head leader [of the family group]. I had been in the Church a year and a little over. That is sixty-nine years ago. So then our folks got places. He kept them a whole week until they got homes, and I was left. He came in every morning to see us and shake hands and know how we all were. One morning, before he came in, I had been up to the landing and found all my clothes were gone. Well, I sat there crying.
"He came in and looked around. 'Why where’ s all the folks?' 'Why Brother,' I says, 'they have all got themselves places; but,' I says, 'I haint got any place,' and I burst out a-crying. 'We won't have tears here,' he says. 'But,' I says, 'I have got no home.' 'Well you've got a home here,' he says, 'Have you seen Sister Emma this morning.' 'No, sir,' I says. So he started out and went upstairs and brought Sister Emma down and says, 'Here's a girl who says she's got no home. Don't you think she's got a home here?' And she says, 'If she wants to stay here.' And he says, 'Do you want to stay here?' 'Yes sir,' says I. 'Well now,' he says, 'Sister Emma you just talk to her and see how she is.' He says, 'Good morning,' and he went.
"We had come, afoot, a thousand miles. We lay in bushes, and in barns and outdoors, and traveled until there was a frost just like a snow, and we had to walk on that frost. I could not tell you, but I wanted to go to Brother Joseph. I did not talk much to him, but every time he saw me he would say, 'God bless you,' and pat me on the shoulder. To Sister Emma, he said, 'go and clothe her up, go down to the store and clothe her up.' Sister Emma did. She got me clothes by the bolt. I had everything.
"The folks that come to me think I ought to talk and tell what Brother Joseph said, but he was hid up (his enemies seeking his life) and I cannot remember now. I could not begin to tell you what he was, only this way, he was tall, over six feet; he was a fine, big, noble, beautiful man. He had blue eyes and light hair, and very fine white skin. When he was killed, I like to a die myself, if it had not been for the teachers. I felt so bad. I could have died, just laid down and died; and I was sick in bed, and the teachers told me, 'You don’t want to die because he did. He died for us, and now we all want to live and do all the good we can.' Things came to pass what he prophesied about the colored race being freed. Things that he said has come to pass. I did not hear that, but I knew of it.
"After I saw him plain, I was certain he was a Prophet because I knew it. I was willing to come and gather [to Nauvoo], and when he came in with Dr. Bernhisel I knew him. Did not have to tell me because I knew him. I knew him when I saw him back in old Connecticut in a vision, saw him plain and knew he was a Prophet. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and there will never be any other on earth. It has come to stay."
"When I went there I had only two things on me, no shoes nor stockings, wore them all out on the road. I had a trunk full of beautiful clothes, which I had sent around by water, and I was thinking of having them when I got to Nauvoo, and they stole them in St. Louis, and I did not have a rag of them. They [Joseph and Emma] was looking for us because I wrote them a letter. There was eight of us, my mother and two sisters and a brother and sister-in-law, and we had two children, one they had to carry all the way there, and we traveled a thousand miles. Sister Emma she come to the door first and she says, 'Walk in, come in all of you,' and she went up stairs, and down he comes and goes into the sitting room and told the girls that they had there, he wanted to have the room this evening, for we have got company come. I knew it was Brother Joseph because I had seen him in a dream.
"He went and brought Dr. Bernhisel down and Sister Emma, and introduced him to everyone of us, and said, 'Now, I want you to tell me about some of your hard trials. I want to hear of some of those hard trials.' And we told him. He slapped his hands. 'Dr. Bernhisel,' he said, 'I think if I had had it to do I should not have come; would not have had faith enough.' I was the head leader [of the family group]. I had been in the Church a year and a little over. That is sixty-nine years ago. So then our folks got places. He kept them a whole week until they got homes, and I was left. He came in every morning to see us and shake hands and know how we all were. One morning, before he came in, I had been up to the landing and found all my clothes were gone. Well, I sat there crying.
"He came in and looked around. 'Why where’ s all the folks?' 'Why Brother,' I says, 'they have all got themselves places; but,' I says, 'I haint got any place,' and I burst out a-crying. 'We won't have tears here,' he says. 'But,' I says, 'I have got no home.' 'Well you've got a home here,' he says, 'Have you seen Sister Emma this morning.' 'No, sir,' I says. So he started out and went upstairs and brought Sister Emma down and says, 'Here's a girl who says she's got no home. Don't you think she's got a home here?' And she says, 'If she wants to stay here.' And he says, 'Do you want to stay here?' 'Yes sir,' says I. 'Well now,' he says, 'Sister Emma you just talk to her and see how she is.' He says, 'Good morning,' and he went.
"We had come, afoot, a thousand miles. We lay in bushes, and in barns and outdoors, and traveled until there was a frost just like a snow, and we had to walk on that frost. I could not tell you, but I wanted to go to Brother Joseph. I did not talk much to him, but every time he saw me he would say, 'God bless you,' and pat me on the shoulder. To Sister Emma, he said, 'go and clothe her up, go down to the store and clothe her up.' Sister Emma did. She got me clothes by the bolt. I had everything.
"The folks that come to me think I ought to talk and tell what Brother Joseph said, but he was hid up (his enemies seeking his life) and I cannot remember now. I could not begin to tell you what he was, only this way, he was tall, over six feet; he was a fine, big, noble, beautiful man. He had blue eyes and light hair, and very fine white skin. When he was killed, I like to a die myself, if it had not been for the teachers. I felt so bad. I could have died, just laid down and died; and I was sick in bed, and the teachers told me, 'You don’t want to die because he did. He died for us, and now we all want to live and do all the good we can.' Things came to pass what he prophesied about the colored race being freed. Things that he said has come to pass. I did not hear that, but I knew of it.
"After I saw him plain, I was certain he was a Prophet because I knew it. I was willing to come and gather [to Nauvoo], and when he came in with Dr. Bernhisel I knew him. Did not have to tell me because I knew him. I knew him when I saw him back in old Connecticut in a vision, saw him plain and knew he was a Prophet. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and there will never be any other on earth. It has come to stay."
Death of Marinda Bankhead
Eva Higginson recalled, "She [Marinda Bankhead] was a wonderful cook and very freehearted. Many times she brought freshly baked bread to our home. She hung a beautiful white wash, was a splendid homemaker, and I remember she always wore a black gathered skirt, white blouse and a green scarf around her head. As Marinda grew older she developed cancer of the left breast and was operated upon. After the operation, as she walked or sat, she would put her right hand over her left breast and her left hand over her right hand. On January 2, 1902, [sic; actually January 20, 1907] this Negro woman, whom the people of Spanish Fork always called 'Aunt Rindy,' passed away. After a beautiful service she was buried in the Spanish Fork Cemetery. In all my research I never heard one unkind thing about her. She was a wonderful American citizen."
In early 1907, exact date unknown but prior to February 8, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve reconsidered their earlier decision on the issue of mixed African and white ancestry. According to the record of Elder George F. Richards, they ruled that "The descendants of Ham may receive baptism and confirmation but no one known to have in his veins negro blood, (it matters not how remote a degree) can either have the Priesthood in any degree or the blessings of the temple of God; no matter how otherwise worthy he may be."
In early 1907, exact date unknown but prior to February 8, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve reconsidered their earlier decision on the issue of mixed African and white ancestry. According to the record of Elder George F. Richards, they ruled that "The descendants of Ham may receive baptism and confirmation but no one known to have in his veins negro blood, (it matters not how remote a degree) can either have the Priesthood in any degree or the blessings of the temple of God; no matter how otherwise worthy he may be."
A Seventy's Course in Theology
In 1907, Elder B.H. Roberts of the Seventy included the following extensive quotes in the first volume of his priesthood manual A Seventy's Course in Theology: "THE LAW OF THE LORD IN ANCIENT AND MODERN REVELATION APPLIED TO THE AMERICAN NEGRO RACE PROBLEM.
"SUBJECT.
"I. The American Negro Race Problem.
"1. Advent of the Negro Race in America.
"2. Slavery and the Abolition of It.
"3. Political Enfranchisement of the Black Race - Its Wisdom or Un-wisdom.
"4. Present Status of the Negro Race Problem.
"II. The Law of the Lord as Affecting the Negro Race Problem.
"1. The Progenitor of the Race.
"2. The Manner of Its Preservation through the Flood.
"3. The Curse Put Upon it by Noah.
"4. In what Respects a Forbidden Race.
"5. From all the Foregoing Deduce the Law of God in the Question....
"1. Introduction of African Slavery into America: 'Some time anterior to this period (i. e., 1620 A. D.) the Spaniards and Portuguese had bought from the chiefs on the coast of Africa negro captives, and had carried them to other parts of the world, especially to South America and the West Indies, and had sold them as slaves. This traffic they had continued without intermission, and in the year 1620 a Dutch vessel brought to Jamestown twenty of these unfortunate beings and sold them to the colonists of Virginia. This was the introduction of African slavery in the British American colonies, which has been the source of so much subsequent trouble, as we shall see. By the close of the year 1620 the population of the colony amounted to nearly two thousand. Upon the subject of the introduction of African slavery in Virginia, and afterwards in all the other British colonies, out of which so much trouble and strife subsequently arose, it is quite proper here to state that a majority of the colonists at Jamestown were very much opposed to this introduction in their community of these supposed descendants of Ham as 'bondsmen and bondswomen' for life. Their opposition arose, however, perhaps more from considerations looking to the best interests and future welfare of the colony, in its progress in moral and material development, than from any feelings of humanity towards the unfortunate victims of this species of commerce. The African slave trade was at that time not only tolerated 'by all civilized nations, but actively engaged in for profit by many of the most distinguished Christian monarchs.' (Stephens' History of the United States, p. 36.)
"2. The First American Slave Ship: 'In 1636 was built at Marblehead, in Massachusetts, the first American slave-ship; it was called the Desire, and was intended for the African salve-trade, in which most of the European nations were then engaged directly or indirectly. The first cargo of African slaves brought into Massachusetts was by the De- sire, on the 20th of May, 1638. Many of the most prominent men pur- chased slaves out of this cargo; so that Massachusetts was a few years only behind Virginia in the introduction within the English settlements on this continent of this unfortunate race of slaves.' (History of the United States, Stephens, p. 88.)
"3. The Beginning of Abolition: 'On the 12th of February, 1790, a petition, invoking the Federal authorities to adopt measures with a view to the ultimate abolition of African slavery, as it then existed in the respective States, was sent to Congress, headed by Dr. Franklin, who had been a very distinguished, though not a very active leader, owing to his age, in the ranks of the "Nationals," in the Philadelphia convention. There were then in the United States 697,897 negro slaves. They had been introduced into all the States, as we have seen, but most of them were at this time in the Southern States. This movement was looked upon with alarm everywhere by the true friends of the federal system, as it invoked the exercise of powers not delegated by the States to Congress. After a thorough discussion on the 23rd of March, 1790, in the House of Representatives, the question was quieted for the time by the passage of a resolution "That Congress have no authority to interfere in the emancipation of slaves, or in the treatment of them within any of the States; it remaining with the several States alone to provide any regulations therein, which humanity and true policy may require.' (History of the United States, Stephens, p. 367.) The act of emancipation did not come until 1863, in the midst of the Civil war, and then it was regarded merely as a war measure.
"4. The Race Question as Affecting the Southern States: Perhaps the most convincing book in justification of the South in denying to the negro race social equality with the white race is the one written by William Benjamin Smith, entitled 'The Color Line, A Brief in Behalf of the Unborn,' from which the following is a quotation:
'Here, then, is laid bare the nerve of the whole matter: Is the south justified in this absolute denial of social equality to the negro, no matter what his virtues or abilities or accomplishments?
'We affirm, then, that the south is entirely right in thus keeping open at all times, at all hazards, and at all sacrifices an impassible social chasm between black and white. This she must do in behalf of her blood, her essence, of the stock of her Caucasian race. To the writer the correctness of this thesis seems as clear as the sun - so evident as almost to forestall argument; nor can he quite comprehend the frame of mind that can seriously dispute it. But let us look at it closely. Is there any doubt whatever as to the alternative? If we sit with negroes at our tables, if we entertain them as our guests and social equals, if we disregard the color line in all other relations, is it possible to maintain it fixedly in the sexual relation, in the marriage of our sons and daughters, in the propagation of our species? Unquestionably, No! It is certain as the rising of tomorrow's sun, that, once the middle wall of social partition is broken down, the mingling of the tides of life would begin instantly and proceed steadily. Of course, it would be gradual, but none the less sure, none the less irresistible. It would make itself felt at first most strongly in the lower strata of the white population; but it would soon invade the middle and menace insidiously the very uppermost. Many bright mulattoes would ambitiously woo, and not a few would win, well-bred women disappointed in love or goaded by impulse or weary of the stern struggle for existence. As a race, the Southern Caucasian would be irrevocably doomed. For no possible check could be given to this process once established. Remove the barrier between two streams flowing side by side - immediately they begin to mingle their molecules; in vain you attempt to replace it. The moment the bar of absolute separation is thrown down in the South, that moment the bloom of her spirit is blighted forever, the promise of her destiny is annulled, the proud fabric of her future slips into dust and ashes. No other conceivable disaster that might befall the South could, for an instant, compare with such miscegenation within her borders. Flood and fire, fever and famine and the sword - even ignorance, indolence, and carpet-baggery - she may endure and conquer while her blood remains pure; but once taint the well-spring of her life, and all is lost - even honor itself. It is this immediate jewel of her soul that the South watches with such a dragon eye, that she guards with more than vestal vigilance, with a circle of perpetual fire. The blood thereof is the life thereof; he who would defile it would stab her in her heart of hearts, and she springs to repulse him with the fiercest instinct of self-preservation. It may not be that she is distinctly conscious of the immeasurable interests at stake or of the real grounds of her roused antagonism; but the instinct itself is none the less just and true and the natural bulwark of her life.
'At this point we hear some one exclaim, 'Not so fast! To sit at table, to mingle freely in society with certain persons, does not imply you would marry them.' Certainly not, in every case. We may recognize socially those whom we personally abhor. This matters not, however; for wherever social commingling is admitted, there the possibility of intermarriage must be also admitted. It becomes a mere question of personal preference, of like and dislike. Now, there is no accounting for tastes. It is ridiculous to suppose that no negroes would prove attractive to any white. The possible would become actual - as certainly as you will throw double-double sixes, if only you keep on throwing. To be sure, where the number of negroes is almost vanishingly small, as in the north and in Europe, there the chances of such mesalliances are proportionally divided; some may even count them negligible. But in the South, where in many districts the black outnumbers the white, they would be multiplied immensely, and crosses would follow with increasing frequency. But some may deny that the mongrelization of the Southern people would offend the race notion - would corrupt or degrade the Southern stock of humanity. If so, then such a one has yet to learn the largest-writ lessons of history and the most impressive doctrines of biological science. That the negro is markedly inferior to the Caucasian is proved both craniologically and by six thousand years of planet-wide experimentation; and that the commingling of inferior with superior must lower the higher is just as certain as that the half-sum of two and six is only four.'"
"SUBJECT.
"I. The American Negro Race Problem.
"1. Advent of the Negro Race in America.
"2. Slavery and the Abolition of It.
"3. Political Enfranchisement of the Black Race - Its Wisdom or Un-wisdom.
"4. Present Status of the Negro Race Problem.
"II. The Law of the Lord as Affecting the Negro Race Problem.
"1. The Progenitor of the Race.
"2. The Manner of Its Preservation through the Flood.
"3. The Curse Put Upon it by Noah.
"4. In what Respects a Forbidden Race.
"5. From all the Foregoing Deduce the Law of God in the Question....
"1. Introduction of African Slavery into America: 'Some time anterior to this period (i. e., 1620 A. D.) the Spaniards and Portuguese had bought from the chiefs on the coast of Africa negro captives, and had carried them to other parts of the world, especially to South America and the West Indies, and had sold them as slaves. This traffic they had continued without intermission, and in the year 1620 a Dutch vessel brought to Jamestown twenty of these unfortunate beings and sold them to the colonists of Virginia. This was the introduction of African slavery in the British American colonies, which has been the source of so much subsequent trouble, as we shall see. By the close of the year 1620 the population of the colony amounted to nearly two thousand. Upon the subject of the introduction of African slavery in Virginia, and afterwards in all the other British colonies, out of which so much trouble and strife subsequently arose, it is quite proper here to state that a majority of the colonists at Jamestown were very much opposed to this introduction in their community of these supposed descendants of Ham as 'bondsmen and bondswomen' for life. Their opposition arose, however, perhaps more from considerations looking to the best interests and future welfare of the colony, in its progress in moral and material development, than from any feelings of humanity towards the unfortunate victims of this species of commerce. The African slave trade was at that time not only tolerated 'by all civilized nations, but actively engaged in for profit by many of the most distinguished Christian monarchs.' (Stephens' History of the United States, p. 36.)
"2. The First American Slave Ship: 'In 1636 was built at Marblehead, in Massachusetts, the first American slave-ship; it was called the Desire, and was intended for the African salve-trade, in which most of the European nations were then engaged directly or indirectly. The first cargo of African slaves brought into Massachusetts was by the De- sire, on the 20th of May, 1638. Many of the most prominent men pur- chased slaves out of this cargo; so that Massachusetts was a few years only behind Virginia in the introduction within the English settlements on this continent of this unfortunate race of slaves.' (History of the United States, Stephens, p. 88.)
"3. The Beginning of Abolition: 'On the 12th of February, 1790, a petition, invoking the Federal authorities to adopt measures with a view to the ultimate abolition of African slavery, as it then existed in the respective States, was sent to Congress, headed by Dr. Franklin, who had been a very distinguished, though not a very active leader, owing to his age, in the ranks of the "Nationals," in the Philadelphia convention. There were then in the United States 697,897 negro slaves. They had been introduced into all the States, as we have seen, but most of them were at this time in the Southern States. This movement was looked upon with alarm everywhere by the true friends of the federal system, as it invoked the exercise of powers not delegated by the States to Congress. After a thorough discussion on the 23rd of March, 1790, in the House of Representatives, the question was quieted for the time by the passage of a resolution "That Congress have no authority to interfere in the emancipation of slaves, or in the treatment of them within any of the States; it remaining with the several States alone to provide any regulations therein, which humanity and true policy may require.' (History of the United States, Stephens, p. 367.) The act of emancipation did not come until 1863, in the midst of the Civil war, and then it was regarded merely as a war measure.
"4. The Race Question as Affecting the Southern States: Perhaps the most convincing book in justification of the South in denying to the negro race social equality with the white race is the one written by William Benjamin Smith, entitled 'The Color Line, A Brief in Behalf of the Unborn,' from which the following is a quotation:
'Here, then, is laid bare the nerve of the whole matter: Is the south justified in this absolute denial of social equality to the negro, no matter what his virtues or abilities or accomplishments?
'We affirm, then, that the south is entirely right in thus keeping open at all times, at all hazards, and at all sacrifices an impassible social chasm between black and white. This she must do in behalf of her blood, her essence, of the stock of her Caucasian race. To the writer the correctness of this thesis seems as clear as the sun - so evident as almost to forestall argument; nor can he quite comprehend the frame of mind that can seriously dispute it. But let us look at it closely. Is there any doubt whatever as to the alternative? If we sit with negroes at our tables, if we entertain them as our guests and social equals, if we disregard the color line in all other relations, is it possible to maintain it fixedly in the sexual relation, in the marriage of our sons and daughters, in the propagation of our species? Unquestionably, No! It is certain as the rising of tomorrow's sun, that, once the middle wall of social partition is broken down, the mingling of the tides of life would begin instantly and proceed steadily. Of course, it would be gradual, but none the less sure, none the less irresistible. It would make itself felt at first most strongly in the lower strata of the white population; but it would soon invade the middle and menace insidiously the very uppermost. Many bright mulattoes would ambitiously woo, and not a few would win, well-bred women disappointed in love or goaded by impulse or weary of the stern struggle for existence. As a race, the Southern Caucasian would be irrevocably doomed. For no possible check could be given to this process once established. Remove the barrier between two streams flowing side by side - immediately they begin to mingle their molecules; in vain you attempt to replace it. The moment the bar of absolute separation is thrown down in the South, that moment the bloom of her spirit is blighted forever, the promise of her destiny is annulled, the proud fabric of her future slips into dust and ashes. No other conceivable disaster that might befall the South could, for an instant, compare with such miscegenation within her borders. Flood and fire, fever and famine and the sword - even ignorance, indolence, and carpet-baggery - she may endure and conquer while her blood remains pure; but once taint the well-spring of her life, and all is lost - even honor itself. It is this immediate jewel of her soul that the South watches with such a dragon eye, that she guards with more than vestal vigilance, with a circle of perpetual fire. The blood thereof is the life thereof; he who would defile it would stab her in her heart of hearts, and she springs to repulse him with the fiercest instinct of self-preservation. It may not be that she is distinctly conscious of the immeasurable interests at stake or of the real grounds of her roused antagonism; but the instinct itself is none the less just and true and the natural bulwark of her life.
'At this point we hear some one exclaim, 'Not so fast! To sit at table, to mingle freely in society with certain persons, does not imply you would marry them.' Certainly not, in every case. We may recognize socially those whom we personally abhor. This matters not, however; for wherever social commingling is admitted, there the possibility of intermarriage must be also admitted. It becomes a mere question of personal preference, of like and dislike. Now, there is no accounting for tastes. It is ridiculous to suppose that no negroes would prove attractive to any white. The possible would become actual - as certainly as you will throw double-double sixes, if only you keep on throwing. To be sure, where the number of negroes is almost vanishingly small, as in the north and in Europe, there the chances of such mesalliances are proportionally divided; some may even count them negligible. But in the South, where in many districts the black outnumbers the white, they would be multiplied immensely, and crosses would follow with increasing frequency. But some may deny that the mongrelization of the Southern people would offend the race notion - would corrupt or degrade the Southern stock of humanity. If so, then such a one has yet to learn the largest-writ lessons of history and the most impressive doctrines of biological science. That the negro is markedly inferior to the Caucasian is proved both craniologically and by six thousand years of planet-wide experimentation; and that the commingling of inferior with superior must lower the higher is just as certain as that the half-sum of two and six is only four.'"
Joseph Fielding Smith, Church Historian
On January 13, 1907, Joseph Fielding Smith of the Church Historian's Office (not yet an Apostle as incorrectly stated in the "Race and the Priesthood" essay) wrote to Alfred M. Nelson, "I received your letter of the 28th inst the following day, but on account of the pressure of other matters have delayed the reply until now.
"There is nothing in our standard works, nor any authoritative statement to the effect that one third of the hosts of heaven remained neutral in the great conflict and that the colored races are of that neutral class. The statement has been put forth at various times until [^ the belief] it has become quite general that the Negro race has been cursed for taking a neutral position in that great contest. But this is not the official position of the Church, merely the opinion of men. In the Pearl of Great Price we learn that the children of Ham were cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood, but no reason is there expressed. Tradition states that the Prophet Joseph Smith declared that the reason why the children of Cain cannot receive the Priesthood is that Cain cut his brother Abel off from the earth before he had seed, and therefore the Lord declared that Cain’s posterity cannot hold the Priesthood until Such time and place as Abel shall have posterity, which of course will not be in this mortal life. Whether this is true or not, - and I believe it is - the fact remains that the children of Cain cannot hold the Priesthood, but this does not debar other colored races."
Sometime before February 8, George F. Richards' Record of Decisions by the Council of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles stated, "Number 3 - The descendants of Ham may receive baptism and confirmation but no one known to have in his veins negro blood, (it matters not how remote a degree) can either have the Priesthood in any degree or the blessings of the Temple of God; no matter how otherwise worthy he may be."
In the October 1907 General Conference, Elder Reed Smoot said that "a man claiming that he was the greatest doctor in the world.... went to one of the business corners of the city, where a little stand was erected, and in order to hold the crowd until he could convince some of them that they had worms, or something worse, he had three or four niggers sing songs - by the way, I have been told that the niggers furnished the best part of the entertainment. He got the people worked up to such a pitch, by his vivid description of various horrid diseases and their symptoms, that it was not a question among his credulous hearers as to whether they were sick then, but that perhaps they would be at some future time."
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Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
"There is nothing in our standard works, nor any authoritative statement to the effect that one third of the hosts of heaven remained neutral in the great conflict and that the colored races are of that neutral class. The statement has been put forth at various times until [^ the belief] it has become quite general that the Negro race has been cursed for taking a neutral position in that great contest. But this is not the official position of the Church, merely the opinion of men. In the Pearl of Great Price we learn that the children of Ham were cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood, but no reason is there expressed. Tradition states that the Prophet Joseph Smith declared that the reason why the children of Cain cannot receive the Priesthood is that Cain cut his brother Abel off from the earth before he had seed, and therefore the Lord declared that Cain’s posterity cannot hold the Priesthood until Such time and place as Abel shall have posterity, which of course will not be in this mortal life. Whether this is true or not, - and I believe it is - the fact remains that the children of Cain cannot hold the Priesthood, but this does not debar other colored races."
Sometime before February 8, George F. Richards' Record of Decisions by the Council of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles stated, "Number 3 - The descendants of Ham may receive baptism and confirmation but no one known to have in his veins negro blood, (it matters not how remote a degree) can either have the Priesthood in any degree or the blessings of the Temple of God; no matter how otherwise worthy he may be."
In the October 1907 General Conference, Elder Reed Smoot said that "a man claiming that he was the greatest doctor in the world.... went to one of the business corners of the city, where a little stand was erected, and in order to hold the crowd until he could convince some of them that they had worms, or something worse, he had three or four niggers sing songs - by the way, I have been told that the niggers furnished the best part of the entertainment. He got the people worked up to such a pitch, by his vivid description of various horrid diseases and their symptoms, that it was not a question among his credulous hearers as to whether they were sick then, but that perhaps they would be at some future time."
Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1908-1912
Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
